NORTHWEST NEIGHBORHOOD LIKE 'WAR ZONE'

Recent Arrest Does Little To Ease Minds Of Residents Who Say
Gunshots, Gangs Plague Area

Tierra Jackson pauses as she struggles to recall the first time she
heard gunshots in her northwest Houston neighborhood.

Stumped, the 10-year-old turns to her cousin, Myoshia Jones, 21,
seated beside her at a small playground of an apartment complex on De
Soto near Antoine.

"We hear gunshots all the time," Jones said.

The woman said her two children are forced to remain indoors or
confined to their porch most of the time. Jones ultimately concludes
that there's no escaping the guns, drugs and gangs that surround them.

In nearby Antoine Forest Estates, residents there are not so tolerant
of the gunfire and other crime they said has spilled over from the
complexes along De Soto.

"It's a war zone," said Orlando Sanchez, president of the
neighborhood association.

Residents say this week's arrest of Antonio Lee Williams, 26, on
murder and capital murder charges related to three slayings this
summer, will do little to change the neighborhood. Police said
Williams went on a killing spree in a bid to gain control of drug
trafficking in northwest Houston.

He is accused of fatally shooting Dion Barnes, 33, on June 17 in the
7400 block of North Shepherd. A month later, police said he fatally
shot 15-year-old Christopher Harris, of New Orleans, in the 5500
block of De Soto. Williams is also accused in the Sept. 1 fatal
shooting of his friend Terrell "T-Rock" Ball, 25, also on De Soto.

At a probable cause hearing Friday, Williams, dressed in a jail
uniform, looked on as prosecutor Lance Long announced plans to seek
indictments against him early next week in the shooting deaths of
Vincent Williams, 18, and Yolanda Styles, 22. Police said he fired
about 30 rounds from a rifle Aug. 5 at the pair in the 5600 block of
De Soto, where their bodies were found.

Afterward, Long commended the witnesses who came forward, and he
urged anyone else with relevant information to contact authorities.
Other crimes may come to light, he said, if more witnesses step forward.

Long said the district attorney's office had not yet decided whether
to seek the death penalty. Williams' attorney, Charles Brown, said it
seems likely. Williams is scheduled to be back in court for another
hearing Nov. 9.

Not enough, residents sayWilliams' arrest has brought little peace to
the community, residents said.

As children scampered around the playground, Jones said many people
knew to keep their distance from Williams this summer, fearful he
would "snap on them." While Williams is off the streets, other
dangers remain, residents said.

Gun-toting drug dealers brazenly flash their pistols. Thieves still
walk along Antoine Forest's streets with towels in hand, which they
use to protect their arms when they break into cars and homes. And
residents still live in fear.

Such fear is present not only in the handful of apartment complexes
that line De Soto -- most of which are in states of disrepair -- but
also in the adjacent neighborhood, where brick homes with
well-manicured lawns go for about $150,000.

"It's getting out of hand," said Sanchez, who also patrols his
neighborhood as a Citizens on Patrol volunteer. "But we're going to
stay and fight."

The Antoine Forest residents have hired a private security company to
keep watch. They have noticed a drop in crime and also an unfortunate
dip in their property values from last year, Sanchez said.

Judith Arnold, who, like Sanchez, has lived in Antoine Forest for
more than 20 years, said crime has worsened in the past four years.
One night, Arnold said she was forced to take cover inside her home
when she heard a volley of gunfire, then the sound of one bullet
nicking the light post across her street.

Arnold says now she doesn't venture outdoors without her panic alarm
button.

"Yeah, you better believe I'm scared," she said.