Gatesville man, 78, arrested on child sex abuse charge

Nov. 26--A 78-year-old Gatesville man was arrested Nov. 25 on an Brown County indictment for continuous sexual abuse of a child, Brown County Jail records state.

John Talpas is accused by indictment of sexually abusing a girl under the age of 14 two or more times between January 2012 and December 2015, court documents state.

Talpas remained jailed Wednesday in lieu of $50,000 bond.

In other recent incidents:

Bangs student arrested

A Bangs High School student was arrested Nov. 21 on a weapons charge after police found three guns in his vehicle at the school, police said Monday.

Brayden Baker, 17, said he had been hunting and had not removed the guns from his vehicle, Bangs police Sgt. James Blankenship said.

Baker is free on $3,000 bond after being booked into the Brown County Jail on a charge of unlawfully carrying a weapon, jail records state.

Bangs school Superintendent Tony Truelove said police were at school on an unrelated matter when they received a tip about the guns in Baker's vehicle.

Baker consented to a search of his vehicle, Blankenship said.

Truelove said he could not comment specifically on how school officials are disciplining Baker.

Truelove said, however, that a firearms offense on school property carries a mandatory expulsion based on state and federal law.

Dispute at gas pump

A Santa Anna woman was arrested Nov. 22 in Brownwood after a dispute over a gas pump resulted in another woman being struck by a car, police said.

Jasmine Tumminello, 23, is free on $10,000 bond after being booked into the Brown County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, jail records state.

According to an email from Brownwood police:

Officers were dispatched Friday afternoon to a convenience store in the 400 block of West Commerce on a citizens dispute call.

Officers learned the dispute the dispute originated from two people's desire to use a gas pump. The driver of a sedan, identified Tumminello, said she pulled behind a stopped vehicle at a gas pump.

It was her intent to use the pump when that sedan drove off. When that sedan drove off, one of its occupants remained at the pump and blocked her ability to move forward. A pickup then drove toward the pump.

Seeing this, Tumminello accelerated in an attempt to get to the pump first, police said. By accelerating, her car struck the female occupant who was trying to hold that pump for the pickup. No injury was reported.

For striking the occupant with her sedan, Tumminello was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, police said.

Storage building burglary

Ruben Cadena, 48, of Brownwood, was arrested Nov. 24 at a northside mini-storage units a charge of burglary of a building, police said.

Officers responded the mini-storage units in the 500 block of West Austin on a burglary attempt.

On arrival, officers met with off-duty officer Roberto Rodriguez. He told fellow officers he was driving when he said a male asking suspicious while standing outside a storage unit.

Rodriguez detained the male while waiting for officers' arrival.

The male was seen opening a mini- storage unit and retrieving a bag that did not belong to him. The male placed that bag into another mini-storage unit that belonged to his family, police said.

Cadena remained jailed Monday in lieu of $2,500 bond, jail records state.

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