Weekly Recap: KISD Administrators Arrested; August Crime Rates Drop in Killeen | Local News

Jennifer Washington, executive director of administrative services for Killeen ISD, was arrested by Temple police on Saturday, the Herald reported earlier this week.

It turned out that Finni M. Johnson, KISD coordinator of special education campus operations, was also in the vehicle driven by Washington when it was stopped, Temple police confirmed Tuesday.

Johnson was arrested along with Washington and both were charged with possession of marijuana, less than 2 ounces. Both women were taken to the Bell County Jail. On her Facebook page, Johnson lists Washington as her sister.

According to KISD, Johnson and Washington are both on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Killeen police crime reports from August – recently released by the KPD – show that overall crime in the city continues to decline.

Statistics in the “crimes against persons” category were more than 5% lower in August than in the same month last year.

The number of rapes fell from seven in August 2023 to five in August 2024, a decrease of over 28%. However, rapes increased from January 1 to August this year: from 56 last year to 70 in the same period this year, a 25% increase.

There were also significant declines in crimes of simple assault and intimidation: simple assault was 19% lower and the number of intimidation attempts fell 31% compared to August this year compared to August last year.

The KPD reported three murders in August, compared to zero in the same month last year, a 300% increase from the previous month.

For the year ending August 30, 2023, seven criminal homicides were reported in the city, while 14 were reported in the first eight months of this year, an increase of 100%.

About 20% of the power connections at the Fort Cavazos headquarters were affected by a power outage Thursday morning that lasted into the early afternoon in some areas.

At 10:38 a.m., the Herald received a tip from an employee working on the installation that power was out at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, among other areas. Another source at the hospital confirmed that the facility was without power and workers were trying to get it back up and running.

At noon, the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Directorate announced via Facebook that the Sportsmen's Center Grill, located on Rod & Gun Club Loop near the shooting range, would remain closed for the remainder of the day due to the power outage.

Shortly thereafter, Darnall Army Medical Center announced that power had been restored to the hospital “after a brief outage” and further stated that all appointments would continue as planned.

Killeen police investigators announced Sunday that they have identified 19-year-old Jacorri Zahary Stevenson of Austin as a suspect in Thursday's fatal shooting and charged him with murder.

According to the news release, Stevenson was located and arrested Saturday in Austin and booked into the Killeen City Jail for the murder of Octavion Keshun Tucker, 18, of Killeen. Tucker's death was listed as the city's 16th homicide this year.

Stevenson was arraigned by Justice of the Peace Nicola James and his bail was set at $1,000,000. Police confirmed he was transferred to the Bell County Jail.

The Board of Directors of the Bell County Water Control and Improvement District No.

The board unanimously approved the new water rates, which are wholesale rates for WCID-1's major customers such as Killeen, Harker Heights, Copperas Cove, Fort Cavazos and Belton.

The volume rate of WCID-1 increases by 1 cent per thousand gallons. Richard Garrett, general manager of WCID-1, said those companies would pass the costs on to customers.

For example, a customer who uses about 8,000 gallons of water per month will incur an additional cost of 8 cents on their water bill, Garrett said.

Garrett said most of what WCID-1 charges wholesale customers is for capital improvements.