Houston criminal defense attorneys of Johnson, Johnson & Baer, P.C. are overjoyed to announce the 2012 Super Bowl this Sunday.

At 6:30pm EST, the New York Giants will play the New England Patriots in a highly anticipated Super Bowl game.  Both teams played each other four years ago in the 2008 Super Bowl, and the New York Giants beat the Patriots ruining their 18-0 winning streak.

This year, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady are back for their fifth Super Bowl appearance in 11 seasons.  The Patriots record is 15-3 this season, and the Giants record is 12-7.

The game kicks off at 6:30pm EST at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and airs on NBC.  For more information on the game, visit the Super Bowl website.

Houston criminal defense attorneys of Johnson, Johnson & Baer, P.C. are excited to announce that hundreds of Houstonians volunteered their time to plant trees in Memorial, Mason, Hermann and MacGregor Parks this weekend.

The drought has cleared out thousands of trees in the Houston area, and the Houston Parks Department asked for volunteers to help bring back the peaceful tranquility that the trees once brought to each park.

Director of Parks and Recreation, Joe Turner, stated, ”Here we’ll be planting approximately 20,000 trees. We won’t cover the freeway up tomorrow, but our goal is, down the road, we will have the freeway covered back up,” Parks & Rec. Director Joe Turner said.

For more information on how to volunteer and donate, visit www.houstonparks.org

Chad Foster, 33, formerly of Cypress, was charged on Dec 14 with online solicitation of a minor after being arrested on Nov 3 for sexual assault charges of a child.

Foster was formerly the youth minister at Second Baptist Church in Cypress when he was accused by a 14 year old girl of showing her live sexual images of himself on Skype, texting with her, and talking to her on Facebook.  She also told police that she watched him masturbate 12-15 times on Skype.

15,000 text messages between Foster and the girl were found by authorities on the girl’s phone from Jan 1 through Nov 2 of 2011.

Foster was accused separately of having sex with a 16 year old girl multiple times while he was youth pastor at Community of Faith Church in Cypress.

Foster is currently out on $40,000 bond.

If you have been charged with a sex crime, contact Houston sex crimes defense lawyers of Johnson, Johnson & Baer, P.C. by calling 713-222-0400.

Houston criminal defense attorneys of Johnson, Johnson & Baer, P.C. are excited to announce the Houston Texans hosting the Cincinnati Bengals in the Texans’ first NFL playoff game in history.

On Saturday, Jan 7, the Houston Texans will host the Cincinnati Bengals at Reliant Stadium at 3:30pm.

The Texan’s defensive coordinator, Wade Phillips, could be seen as the glue that keeps this team together.  Phillips, who was ousted from his head coach position for the Dallas Cowboys, relocated to Houston as defensive coordinator for the Texans, and has turned the defense around with picks like cornerback Jonathan Joseph and linebacker Brian Cushing.

For more information about the game, visit www.houstontexans.com

Houston criminal defense attorneys of Johnson, Johnson & Baer, P.C. are excited to announce the annual Undivided Hearts wrapping event…

This Saturday on Christmas Eve, Undivided Hearts, a youth ministry organization, will host a gift wrapping event beginning at 8am at Walmart in Houston.  The event is a fundraiser for the youth ministry.  With each donation, wrapping paper, bows, and labels will be provided.  Gifts do not have to be purchased at the store, and they can be dropped off.  A wrapper will contact you when they are complete.

A tent just outside the front door of the store will hold the event.

Undivided Hearts meets weekly on Saturday nights at  7pm at First and Chestnut streets in Houston.  It is a non-denominational ministry, and is targeted for teens.  For more information, visit the Houston Herald website.

Alex Raymond Sanchez, 23, of Cypress, is serving a 10-day jail sentence for two separate sex crimes he was charged with in January after receiving plea bargains.

In August 2010, Sanchez attended a funeral of a young black man, and noticed a 15 year old black girl, who was the sister of the deceased man.  According to court records, he ”began to send numerous cellphone to cellphone text messages to her and they became extremely seuxally explicit in nature which she thought to be inappropriate.  (The victim) became nervous about the aggressive nature of the text messages and informed her mother who then notified law enforcement.”

Sanchez admitted to sending the messages and posted bail.  While out on bail, Sanchez was charged with indecent exposure after receiving oral sex in a public place.

After being arrested for two separate crimes, he still received two plea bargains and a very lenient sentence.

If you have been charged with a sex crime, contact Houston criminal defense attorneys of Johnson, Johnson & Baer, P.C. at  713-222-0400.

Houston criminal lawyers are proud to announce Citycentre’s holiday events during the month of December.

On Dec 9, the Rockin’ Roadrunners of Rummel Creek Elementary School will give a drum and movement performance.

On Dec 10, the first ever Rudolph Fun Run 5K/Dasher 10K/Cupid 1K will start at 9am, and participants are invited to wear fun holiday costumes.  For more information, visit www.itrievents.net

Also on Dec 1o, Santa Claus will be in town at Pictures in the Plaza with Santa from 9-11am.  Children and families are encouraged to attend.

On Dec 31, a New Years Eve celebration will occur from 8:30pm-12:30am with a spectacular display of fireworks to ring in the new year.

Visit www.citycentrehouston.com for more information

A neighborhood in Houston is using social media to prevent neighborhood crime.  The social media website, My Virtual Neighbor, was first used in the 3000-3099 block of Sage Road near the Galleria.

In the Houston neighborhood, use of the website between neighbors reduced crime by 80 percent within 10 weeks.  Police say that people looking to commit theft or home invasion crimes have become deterred from neighborhoods that they know are using the website.

The website is a part of an effort titled “National Night Out,” which aims to reduce neighborhood crime.

If you or someone you know has been charged with a crime in Houston, contact the Houston criminal defense lawyers of Johnson, Johnson & Baer, P.C. at 713-222-0400 to discuss your situation with one of our defense attorneys today.

Last month, Governor Perry signed a new law that allows a man who was wrongfully convicted on six counts of murder and spent 18 years in jail to receive $1.4 million.

The 45-year old man was a suspect in the 1992 murder of a family of 2 women and 4 children.  Another suspect informed police that had worked with the other man in the crime.

However, the man maintained that he was innocent and that he was at his house in Brenham with a family member when the crime occurred.  In 2000, the other suspect admitted that the 45-year old man was not involved in the crime.

The man was released from Burleson County Jail in October after his attorney filed a motion to have the charges dismissed.

If you or someone you know is seeking experienced legal representation to defend them against a criminal charge, contact the Houston criminal defense lawyers of Johnson, Johnson & Baer, P.C. at 713-222-0400 today.

Senator Rodney Ellis of Houston is planning on introducing reforms to the criminal justice system in Texas in order to decrease the number of wrongful convictions in the state.  Texas has had at least 42 inmates exonerated on DNA evidence.  Currently, this is the highest number of exonerations in any state.

Ellis has created what he calls an “Innocence Protection Package.”  The package includes four bills aimed at criminal defense and reducing wrongful convictions.  The bills include changes like consistent and uniform procedures for eyewitness identifications, streamlining the DNA appeal process, reorganizing the state’s indigent defense task force and recording suspects of serious felonies’ interrogations.

According to officials from the Innocence Project of Texas, many counties do not have any type of consistent or uniform procedures regarding eyewitness identification, interrogations or DNA appeals.  In addition, they say incorrect eyewitness identification convicted 85 percent of exonerated persons in the state.

Contact the Houston criminal defense lawyers of Johnson, Johnson & Baer P.C. at 713-222-0400 if you or someone you know has been wrongly accused of committing a crime in Texas.