San Angelo's Most Memorable Moments from 2014

San Angelo grew and changed throughout 2014, as new faces streamed into town, bringing with them the promise of business, a bolstered economy and an increase in crime. Of all that's happened over the past year--including struggles with drought and several controversial city-related topics--several items stick out as the most memorable of the year. 

Below are the highlights and lowlights of 2014 in the city of San Angelo and in Tom Green County. 

Business

It’s been a busy year in business, as the swelling population brings with it a slew of new restaurants, gift shops and stores to San Angelo’s nine zip codes.

Much of the excitement of 2014 revolved around new eating establishments, including a buffet-style Indian restaurant serving several different curry dishes and a new, well-visited Thai restaurant whose menu was made by restaurant owner and Thailand native, Moo Lloyd.

Other new additions include the brand new, upscale dining room at the Clarion Hotel, operating under the name The Black Sheep Bar and Grill. With house-infused tequilas and daily chef specials—not to mention a famed brunch on select weekends—the Black Sheep has built a name for itself locally as one of the city’s finest eating establishments.

A San Angelo favorite that had long disappeared came back online in its female form this year, when the former owner of Chilango’s assisted his daughter opening her first authentic Mexican food restaurant, La Chilanga.

Blaine’s pub, which has been a staple of the San Angelo nightlife since 1997, switched hands this year in September and is thriving under the new ownership, driving up sales and upgrading the venue as they work to bring in top Texas acts.

A planned new restaurant became the center of controversy in September, when owner Tim Condon attempted to get approval for a sign to sit atop his Angry Cactus. Condon had hoped to open in October but the city government red tape halted the process for months, ultimately agreeing on a sign that looked much like the contested original.

San Angelo went wild for chicken last year, celebrating the opening of a new Popeye’s and camping out in the cold for a chance to win 52 chicken sandwiches from the new, expansive Chick-fil-A.

Indeed, Chick-fil-A continually made headlines this year, not just for its three-lane drive-thru, but also when a man having a bad day left $300 behind to pay for the lunches of those who would follow him.

The instance of kindness at an eatery wasn’t the only one this year; in November a woman having computer troubles was gifted her lunch at Carino’s after the wait staff overhead her story and relayed it to a manager.

With the population still growing but the oilfield slowing, it’s difficult to forecast what’s to come in 2015, however at least one more Asian restaurant is planned to come online, as well as a new Icon Theater and a new Walmart.

While the Eola Schoolhouse started delivering beer to local bars at the end of 2013, Zero One Alehouse is in the process of adding a brewery into the downtown pub, and is anticipating to start serving their first brews in mid-January. 

Lost Lives and Crime

Summing up crime in 2014 is a fateful reminder of guns, violence and the loss of life at the hands of criminals who will spend their lives behind bars, some of whom are still awaiting trial.

The year started with a double homicide in January when Jessie Fitchett fired upon patrons leaving Richard’s Bar, now closed, hitting three and killing two before he engaged in a stand off with SWAT and killed himself.

Later in the year, Fitchett’s brother, Toby Fitchett, a wanted man, was jailed and charged with nine felonies after eluding police for approximately six months.

The gun violence continued in March when Anthony Walters drove by Desiree’s Gentleman’s club and fired several rounds at both the establishment and cars parked in the lot.

Two days later a man led police on a high-speed chase throughout San Angelo after firing a round off at his girlfriend with his son in the car. James Baimbridge was sentenced to 63 months in prison for one of the many charges he accrued that day. 

On March 24, an out-of-towner named Charles D. Welborn entered the 29^th St. Walmart, smashed a display case and made threats while pointing a gun at shoppers and employees. Welborn then ran and exited the store where he was met by police near his truck, whom he charged with a broken glass bottle.

Family later relayed that Welborn’s intention had been to commit suicide-by-cop due to a string of tragedies that had turned his life upside down. Welborn was shot in the parking lot by an officer as he charged forward and died the following day. 

Less than a week after the Walmart incident, domestic violence turned deadly when John Ellis McDonald shot and killed Tyree Timm at their home on FM 380, then shot and killed himself. A few days later the trailer McDonald occupied burned down and was investigated as arson. 

In April, a man named Mark Edward Jones II was jailed after firing several rounds at a woman’s car in the parking lot of Bella Vista Apartments, no one was injured, but Jones was charged with deadly conduct.

A 19-year-old, Trestin Blake Wollner, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on April 24 for the murder of Samuel Sterling at a party on Dec. 23, 2012. The Wollner trial was emotional, but the victim’s mother said she had forgiven the boy who had taken her son’s life.

A week after the Wollner trial another San Angelo youth was found dead in the Concho River, following two days of dragging and searches by various law enforcement agencies. Since he was found, much controversy and rumor has surrounded the death of 15-year-old Daniel Perez, but the final autopsy report revealed that there was no indication of foul play. 

At his jury trial on May 20, Elias Bihl was found guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 30 years. The victim in the case took the witness stand and described how Bihl had beat him with a gun and stabbed him several times at a house they shared on May 11, 2013. 

On June 2, another shooting out in the county resulted in the arrest of Gabriel Hughes, who is charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon--one with a family member--after shooting mother Cathleen Hughes and attorney Theodore “Tip” Hargrove.

A 77-year-old man died in his home on June 4, taking with him the secrets of a months-long investigation into multiple accounts of sexual abuse of children. John Edward Sullivan was facing one count of online solicitation of a minor and one count of possession of child pornography at the time of his death, but the investigation was ongoing.

Affidavits filed for search warrants detail the systematic abuse of at least three young boys, and numerous disturbing tales told by those who knew him. Just before he died, Sullivan wrote a will, leaving all of his money—well over a $1 million—to his attorney.

On July 13, an 84-year-old man shot his wife in Southland and then shot himself. In what could have been a murder-suicide, both Louis Marquart and his wife survived and Marquart was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. 

Also in July, Brian Jones Barry was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the capital murder of his estranged wife, her brother and the attempted murder of his sister-in-law in July 2013. Barry pled guilty to all charges.

In August, two trials ran simultaneously that garnered interest and spurred controversy. Matthew Salazar was convicted of first-degree murder for killing his wife, Heather in 2013. He also shot and injured her lover, Bradley Floyd. Salazar says he plans on becoming a "missionary for Jesus" while in prison. 

As the jury heard the details of the murder upstairs at the courthouse in August, Allen Lee Schmidt was on trial in a downstairs room for the role he played in the death of a Marine outside the Party Ranch on March 10, 2013, when he helped push a drunken man’s truck into the road the marine was traveling down on a motorcycle.

Schmidt was convicted of manslaughter and on Aug. 20, was sentenced to 10 years probation. The aftermath of the decision was heard throughout the courthouse as the mother of the victim cried for justice.

One of the year’s most reprehensible crimes occurred on the morning of Sept. 2, when Isidro Delacruz broke into his ex-girlfriend’s house and slit the throat of her 5-year-old daughter, Naiya Villegas. Delacruz has been charged with capital murder and the case marks the first in 15 years in which the district attorney is seeking the death penalty. The trial is scheduled for the beginning of 2016. 

On Sept. 11, a suspect involved in a domestic violence call was being watched by police as he circled a woman’s place of employment. As police gave chase, the man eluded, drawing a weapon outside of the Bellagio at Sunset Apartments. The suspect, 54-year-old Gerald Cole, died a week after the incident. The Texas Rangers took over the investigation. 

Roughly a week after the officer-involved shooting at the Bellagio, a crazed gunman fired upon Ethicon employees in a field next to the facility then hid out for several hours bevor being apprehended by police. 

By October, another murder case attracted attention when the district attorney announced she wouldn’t be seeking the death penalty for either Daniel Uvalle or Johnny Garcia, both charged with capital murder of multiple persons after executing Tabitha Freeman and Alvaro Carillo in September 2013.

The case is scheduled to go to trial in early 2015. 

In the midst of all of that, police finally negotiated a pay raise after several months of debate with city staff. The plan stretches over three years and will bring the PD up to 95 percent of the average salaries of their benchmark cities. 

Weather News

While most of 2014 could be characterized as hot and dry, the year was punctuated with several weather events that made the news.

There was the February ice storm that caused the wreck of an ambulance from Sterling City and forced closures and delays as first responders tended to accidents all over the Concho Valley.

Lack of rain was the dominant story for the first half of the year, as surface water stocks evaporated and city officials felt intense pressure to bring the new Hickory Aquifer water source on line as San Angelo approached Drought-level 3 conditions.

Local lakes were rapidly going dry with no rain in sight, when relief came in a deluge over the Memorial Day weekend, refilling the lake in a matter of hours, and eventually requiring the flood gates to be opened lest the dam be overwhelmed.

The following day, tornado chasers were in town expecting severe weather, which turned out to be a hailstorm on the north side of town.

A round of storms in June knocked down buildings and trees in San Angleo, and in July, there were reports a microbursts and landspouts during a weather event on July 17.

San Angelo ends 2014 with about 16.7 inches of total precipitation, 4.5 inches less than is considered normal.

Around Town

One of the most familiar landmarks in San Angelo became a memory, when demolition crews leveled the original Lake View campus on Bowie St., and the Rodeo Motel was torn down on Chadbourne Street.

They also knocked the Second K-Mart down, to make way for a hotel.

County News

The Tom Green County Commissioner’s Court had an eventful 2014; it was an election year, and County Judge Steve Floyd, along with Commissioners Bacon and Ford, were handily voted into office along with County Clerk Liz McGill and Treasurer Diana Spieker. Most elected officials secured their victory during the Primary Elections in March, but a few others had to wait until November, as they faced Democrat challengers on Election Day.

Jill Donegan officially took over as director of the Tom Green County Library, as Larry Justis retired after a record 38 years of service, and the Court worked to help fresh-water supply districts get grants to deal with ongoing water shortages, and gave the green light for a study that could result in a large area in north San Angelo that has been listed as floodplain reclassified, saving residents in that area thousands of dollars in flood insurance premiums.

The Court held a series of public hearings and eventually approved changing the way Tom Green County votes with the advent of Vote Centers, which were ready by Election Day.

When Unattended Alien Children from south of the border were making national headlines, the Court held a special meeting to approve a resolution against housing such children in the county.

In other news, Commissioner Bill Ford initiated an extensive renovation of Pugh Park in Christoval; the Court voted to rename the Justice Center in honor of former County Judge Mike Brown; and commissioner Rick Bacon has taken the helm in coordinating efforts to make sure the county’s Information Technology department can handle the challenges of digitalizing local government operations.

City Council

The San Angelo City Council faced many challenges in 2014 with persistent drought, a request-for-proposals on solid waste and landfill operations to sort out, and elections, it proved to be a busy year.

The Council considered several issues,  including the the Man Camp issue, repairing city streets, a sidewalk improvement project, and several new ordinances.

The City of San Angelo unveiled their new website in February, and approved another boat company that wants to operate on Lake Nasworthy.

In May, the council voted to award solid-waste collection and landfill operation contracts to Republic Services after a high-profile skirmish between that company and rival bidder Texas Disposal Systems, wherein it was revealed Republic had been overcharging commercial customers without authorization, prompting an audit and eventual refund to affected customers.

The Council heard about several ideas related to water throughout the year, including curb-cutting projects, wastewater reuse, and a plan to catch runoff from the Red Arroyo.

They voted to put a new roof on the Foster Communications Coliseum and improve the area around the Bosque along the Concho River downtown.

For the second year, the City put on Riverfest, and things went a little better this time around, paving the way for the annual celebration to continue.

The effort to renovate the City Auditorium got a big boost when a local patron of the arts decided to donate a significant amount to help move the project forward.

A controversy arose late in the year over a proposed sand transloading facility planned for Hill Street, not far from downtown, which may be resolved at a special meeting in February.

*Matthew McDaniel contributed to this report.