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The Balanced Voice Podcast with Rania Mankarious Kicks Off Season 2
Today, Crime Stoppers of Houston kicked off season 2 of it’s podcast, The Balanced Voice Podcast. This is a podcast for those who desire to have balanced conversations that offer real solutions to today’s most pressing issues. Join the conversation every Wednesday at 10am.
This week on Episode 15, we welcome Crime Stoppers of Houston’s very own Director of Victim Services and Victim Advocacy, Andy Kahan, to discuss the shocking trend of the repeat release of violent offenders on bond. In their conversation, Rania, Andy and expert contributor, Jennifer Hohman, break down how this disturbing trend correlates to rising crime rates and affects human trafficking victims.
Watch below or listen on your favorite podcast platform such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and iHeart!
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Hosted by Crime Stoppers CEO Rania Mankarious @theraniareport
Powered by Crime Stoppers of Houston
Produced by Real News Public Relations, Sydney Zuiker, Elizabeth McChesney and Tania Cruz
Press Release: Houston-Based Action and Drama Film Donates Portion of Amazon Profits to Crime Stoppers of Houston
HOLLYWOOD TO HOUSTON: ‘NARCO SUB’ SET FOR JANUARY RELEASE
Houston-Based Action and Drama Film Donates Portion of Amazon Profits to Crime Stoppers of Houston
HOUSTON (January 2021) – Deep Water Productions, the Houston-based production company and subsidiary of Derek Potts Ventures, announces the release of Narco Sub ©, an action and drama film based on true events, in late January. Cast members include notable actors such as film and television star Lee Majors, best known for his roles in The Big Valley and The Six Million Dollar Man, Tom Sizemore, widely acclaimed for his roles in Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down and Heat, as well as Robert Lasardo, who starred in The Mule alongside Clint Eastwood.
Written by Deep Water Productions founder, Derek Potts, the film also enlisted notable Houston director, Shawn Welling. Narco Sub tells the story of the ongoing battle between the Colombian Drug Cartel and American law enforcement over the Cartel’s drug and sex trafficking activities involving American citizens. The story centers on Bruce Stryker, a retired American sub commander and navy seal whose family is kidnapped by the cartel in Medellín, Colombia so as to force him to pilot a Cartel submarine transporting cocaine to the Miami drug cartel, led by Majors’ character. With the DEA, CIA and FBI on his tail, he is pushed to the brink and forced to become a criminal to save his family and other victims.
Fitting with the times, the film will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video through purchase or rental. Beginning with the release, a portion of the film’s profits will be donated to Crime Stoppers of Houston, Houston’s top non-profit dedicated to public safety. Since 1980, Crime Stoppers of Houston has remained committed to its mission to solve and prevent serious crime in the Greater Houston Area in partnership with citizens, media and the criminal justice system. The partnership is a natural fit as the film aims to shed light on numerous criminal activities, particularly sex trafficking, a cause close to Potts after his experience helping victims of sex trafficking through his legal work.
“We’re thrilled with our partnership with Narco Sub, a partnership that highlights two of Houston’s best qualities, the arts and the philanthropic heart of our city, working together to further improve the city by combatting crime,” said Rania Mankarious, CEO of Crime Stoppers. “We recognize that these issues affect all of us and find it critical to address them.”
The leadership behind the camera and philanthropic partner aren’t the only things that production kept local. The filming of Narco Sub takes place in several different Texas locations, including Houston, Katy, Cotulla and Kemah. While filming in Los Angeles halted due to COVID-19, the reopening of Texas provided production of this local film the opportunity to safely begin filming again, giving it a leg up on the Hollywood competition. As a tribute to its roots, the Houston-based film worked with a number of local vendors including the use of Jentry Kelley Cosmetic products and sourcing jewelry from Zadok Jewelers.
“I cannot wait to share this story and show off what we can accomplish as part of the film community in Houston, a city that truly embraces the arts,” said Potts. “Getting to release Narco Sub will be a huge milestone for me, and our partnership with Crime Stoppers of Houston adds so much value not only the story we are trying to tell but to the impact this film can have on our city.”
Deep Water Productions is a subsidiary of Houston-based Derek Potts Ventures. The national operations of the production company entail the development, acquisition, production, financing, distribution and sales of entertainment content. The company continues to evolve and expand its repertoire with new genres, a mix of up-and-coming and established actors and challenging subject matter, some with the potential to effect social change. With emphasis on content that relates to audiences from an entertainment, current events or wholistic perspective, Deep Water Productions is proud to present award-winning work.
Press Release: Standing for Victims, Crime Stoppers CEO Rania Mankarious Supports Director of Victim Services Andy Kahan and the Community Amidst Concerning Commissioner’s Court Session
HOUSTON (November 10, 2020) – For more than 40 years now, Crime Stoppers of Houston has worked tirelessly to solve crime in our community and advocate for the many victims who have been impacted by crime in our area. In late 2019, Crime Stoppers’ Director of Victim Services, Andy Kahan, noticed a concerning pattern with defendants charged with murder: many of them had been released on multiple felony bonds, bond forfeiture and/or a personal bond. He began studying the issue and in mid-March of this year began tracking the issue based on data from court records.
In each case Andy tracks, the victims were killed by a Harris County suspect who:
- was a defendant who had been released on multiple felony bonds; or
- had a bond forfeiture reinstated; or
- had a motion to revoke bond denied; and/or
- was released on a PR Bond.
On Tuesday, October 27, 2020, Andy Kahan appeared before Commissioner’s Court with the intention of sharing this critical data and offering support. We thought the information would be relevant to maintaining public safety while navigating critical changes to felony bail reform. Andy was invited as a guest and in doing so, represented himself, Crime Stoppers of Houston, and the countless victims impacted by crime in Harris County.
The data presented by Andy was just that – untainted data from court records. More importantly, Andy had information regarding the over 60 victims who lost their lives (three of which were pregnant) as a direct result of county’s push to continually release defendants, including many violent defendants, under the notion that bail holds them unfairly.
Andy presented his findings on the Zoom session but was then muted leaving him with no opportunity to reply. He was labeled an “interested party” with an “axe to grind” who was only sharing data to engage in “fear mongering.”
“As the largest public safety nonprofit in our city, we were extremely disappointed with how Andy and Crime Stoppers were treated. Common sense indicates that public safety is at a higher risk when career habitual offenders are continuously released back into the community; our community members see this and they are talking about it. By muting Andy and maligning his intentions, our organization’s efforts were dismissed, the voices of the many victim families Andy was there to represent were muted, and the rising concerns stemming from the very large community we serve were disregarded.” said Crime Stoppers of Houston CEO Rania Mankarious.
Crime Stoppers CEO sent Commissioner’s Court a letter in response to the October 27th meeting. To view the letter, click here.
Crime is up, with some residents saying it has never been as bad as it now. The increasing crime rates detrimentally affect all of us. Andy and Crime Stoppers will continue to work around the clock on this public safety issue and take proactive measures to make our community safer.
Today, we are releasing Andy’s report that outlines the over 60 men, women and children who have been killed by suspects released on a variety of bonds, including felony and personal bond(s) from Harris County. View report here. This report includes victim names and photographs, as well as the location of where they were murdered by Precinct.
Crime Stoppers will continue to aggressively work with partners and citizens, law enforcement and victim families, media and colleagues, to ensure the utter most safety of everyone who calls Harris County home. We encourage the community to get involved and follow the work of Andy @akahancrimesto1 and Crime Stoppers @CrimeStopHOU.
To learn more about Crime Stoppers of Houston, including their Victim Services and Advocacy Program, visit crime-stoppers.org.
Press Release: Crime Stoppers of Houston Urges Harris County Delegation to Take Action this Upcoming Legislative Session on the Issue of Bond Reform to Protect Victims and the Community
HOUSTON (August 20, 2020) – Over 50 people have been killed in Harris County over the last two years as a result of well intentioned, but poorly implemented bail bond reforms. Ashton Broussard had four prior felony convictions and was granted two PR bonds in the days leading up to an altercation where he is alleged to have taken a gun from a security officer before being shot by a Houston PD Sergeant. Cedgadrick Harris was released on a PR bond after allegedly assaulting Kimberley Robinson. He then failed to appear for a routine court hearing, but was still granted a second PR bond. He then allegedly tampered with a government record and was granted a felony bond despite having obviously violated his previous PR bonds. After being released on two PR bonds and a felony bond, Harris kicked down Robinson’s door and shot her to death, injuring her 4-year old daughter in the process. Angel Cardenas was released on a PR bond following his arrest on capital murder and tampering with evidence charges after an alleged accomplice died of gunshot wounds suffered during a shootout following a gun store robbery.
Due to these cases and many others, Crime Stoppers of Houston supports the efforts of Senator Paul Bettencourt to prevent people from being released from jail on multiple personal bonds and Senator John Whitmire’s ongoing efforts to reform the bail bond system and establish a statewide, standardized system that sets bond based on risk. These changes would result in significant improvements to the pretrial release system in Texas by ensuring equitable treatment of individuals accused of crimes and reducing the likelihood of violent repeat offenders being released back on to the streets.
Time and time again, we’re seeing the same defendants released on multiple bonds, continually being arrested for additional felony crimes and yet are still getting out of jail on new bonds. The last statistical data Crime Stoppers received six months ago from local law enforcement officials indicate over 4,000 defendants have been granted bonds for violent and sexually related offenses. Public safety is at a higher risk when career habitual offenders are continuously released back to the community. All of us who live and work in Harris County should be on the same page on behalf of public safety. Increasing crime rates detrimentally affect all of us. Improving public safety has to be a non-partisan issue.
Crime Stoppers of Houston urges the Harris County delegation to the Texas Legislature to take action this upcoming legislative session to protect victims and the community by making public safety a central component of any bond reform legislation considered during the upcoming legislative session. We cannot continue to release dangerous individuals on to the streets. As Kimberley Robinson’s mother, Janet Robinson, said: “when you keep letting these people out are you thinking about the person that’s supposed to be protected?”
For additional information or to schedule a media interview, please contact Crime Stoppers Director of Victim Services Andy Kahan at akahan@crime-stoppers.org.
Crime Stoppers of Houston’s Response to the Death of George Floyd
As Crime Stoppers stands as the leading public safety organization, bridging the gap between law enforcement
and the community, we have spent a great deal of time processing the events that unfolded following the
horrific killing of George Floyd.
We all agree that the murder of George Floyd, and countless others, were tragic yet utterly preventable. The
officers involved were rightfully removed from their positions and criminally charged.
As a public safety organization, we support law enforcement. We do not support police brutality.
It is important to recognize the real dangers and threats that law enforcement officers face on a daily basis. With
that being said, we fully support a national response that unifies the operational practices of the 18,000 law
enforcement agencies in our nation, to include a comprehensive review and outline of all police policies and
practices regarding use of force, along with the discipline and removal of law enforcement officers when
needed and the parameters around rehiring officers who may have been terminated from other departments.
Additionally, we support new and unified techniques for training current and future officers, increasing
accountability for excessive use of force and improved data collection.
Law enforcement in our area represents the diversity of ethnicity and cultures that make up Houston. We
know that many first responders have paid the ultimate price on behalf of the citizens of Houston and Harris
County without regard to race, gender or creed.
Crime Stoppers is an organization made up of the community, represented by all and serving all, without
question. We hear the outcries of systemic racism and urge communities to come together, to listen, to respect
one another and to heal.
We understand our nation was built on peaceful protests and applaud those who are using their voices for the
betterment of all. We applaud their efforts and believe their actions can be a catalyst for positive change.
Our staff hears the stories of victims daily and a re concerned about the call for a full defunding or dismantling
of law enforcement. A systematic approach to evaluating law enforcement practices and time spent investing in
and supporting complimentary agencies is needed. Now is the time to give our nation’s law enforcement
agencies support, guidance and accountability in order to create a system of checks and balances that measure
law enforcement response.
Crime Stoppers of Houston has been focused on solving and preventing crime for forty years. We look forward
to being a part of this critical public safety conversation as the community seeks to enact positive change and
reform.