The Texas Department of Public Safety has identified the pilot killed in an East Texas plane crash Wednesday.

Investigators say Stephen Annis, 51, of Huntsville, was alone in the single-engine plane crash near a residential area off Farm-to-Market Road 344 in Bullard near Lake Palestine.

Witnesses reported seeing the plane nosedive before it crashed and broke apart, killing Annis. Pieces of wreckage were scattered among the trees and on a road.

The Federal Aviation Administration is trying to determine what caused the crash.

No injuries were reported on the ground.

 

Former Mayor of Melissa, Texas Indicted on Federal Charges

Two Collin County, Texas men, including the former mayor of the city of Melissa, have been indicted in connection with a bribery scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales.

David E. Dorman, 66, of Melissa, Texas, has been charged with extortion while John Christie, 65, of Frisco, Texas, has been charged with misprision of a felony.  The men were named in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Sep. 12, 2012.

According to the indictment, in 2007, Dorman, then mayor of the city of Melissa, solicited a $70,000 bribe from Christie in exchange for arranging for the city of Melissa to annex a portion of land from the city of McKinney, Texas, in order for Christie to develop and sell the land to potential customers.  Based on a letter from Dorman, the cities of Melissa and McKinney approved the annexation and in exchange, Christie made one $10,000 cash payment and two $10,000 payments by check to Dorman.

If convicted, Dorman faces up to 20 years in federal prison.  Christie faces up to three years in federal prison for his role in the scheme.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shamoil T. Shipchandler.

 

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