Area briefs: Man gets 20 years in shooting 17 years ago

Man sentenced in 1992 shooting

FORT WORTH ¡ª The brother of a teenager killed 17 years ago while the siblings attempted to steal a car in west Arlington has been convicted of attempted capital murder in the case. Guillermo Ortega of Fort Worth, now 36, was sentenced Dec. 4 to 20 years in prison for shooting at a 25-year-old resident of the Willows condominiums. The man told police that he confronted two thieves trying to steal his wife¡¯s car about 1:30 a.m. May 13, 1992. The thieves fired handguns at him, and the man fired back with a semiautomatic rifle, killing Ernesto Ortega, 15, Arlington police reported. Investigators got "new information" this year, leading them to Guillermo Ortega, an Arlington police spokeswoman said. Ortega was already in prison, serving an eight-year sentence in an unrelated drug case. Charges were not filed against the resident, who acted in self-defense, authorities said. Ortega¡¯s attorney, Warren St. John, said he plans to appeal. ¡ª Nathaniel Jones

Man facing life gets 2 years in jail

FORT WORTH ¡ª A 22-year-old man who faced a life sentence if convicted of murder has been sentenced to two years in jail after pleading guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated assault with deadly weapon. Germaine Lamont Gil, who has been in the Tarrant County Jail since the December 2005 shooting, was credited with time served and is expected to be released next week, his attorney, Wes Ball of Fort Worth, said this week. Gil was accused of shooting Timothy Taylor on July, 7, 2005, outside the Silverwood Apartments near Interstate 30 and Texas 360. Police think that Gil was hired by a man identified by police as Frederick Coady to kill Taylor. It could not be learned this week why Coady has not been charged in Taylor¡¯s death.

¡ª Nathaniel Jones

Thousands lose power for day

About 6,100 homes and business were without power Thursday morning and afternoon in west Fort Worth and White Settlement, a spokeswoman for Oncor said. The outage, which began about 8:30 a.m., was apparently caused by a blown transformer, according to White Settlement police. Students at Western Hills Elementary School on Laredo Drive were moved a block away to Western Hills Primary School, a school official said. Power was restored to the entire area by 4 p.m., the Oncor spokeswoman said. ¡ª Staff report

River authority to buy 1.8 acres

FORT WORTH ¡ª The Trinity River Vision Authority board voted Thursday to buy 1.8 acres, currently being used as a self-storage facility, for the massive Trinity Uptown project. The price of the property at 750 N. Henderson Street, which is owned by Shope and Ryan Management Inc., won¡¯t be made public until after the Tarrant Regional Water District board votes on the purchase at its meeting next week. The property is valued at $1,332,049 by the Tarrant Appraisal District. The Trinity River Vision Authority is a political subdivision of the water district. Trinity Uptown is a $909 million project that will stretch from the near north side southeast to Gateway Park. It is scheduled to be completed in 2021. The latest tract is needed as a right of way for a new Henderson Street bridge and the extension of White Settlement Road, said J.D. Granger executive director of Trinity River Vision.

¡ª Bill Hanna

Engineers create endowment

ARLINGTON ¡ª The American Society of Civil Engineers¡¯ Fort Worth branch has created an endowment fund to provide scholarships for civil engineering students at the University of Texas at Arlington. The group has committed to raising $25,000 over the next five years, and those funds will be matched by the university through its Maverick Match program.

¡ª Susan Schrock

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