Security increased near courthouse complex downtown

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- If you've ever parked in or near the Harris County Courthouse Complex, you can probably understand Christy Fountain's almost daily dilemma.

"I absolutely I feel like every time I come here I get approached by somebody asking for something every time," said Fountain, one of thousands of people who either work or visit the vast court complex on a daily basis.

Fountain and others like her have good reason to be concerned. Last week, the Harris County Sheriff's Office sent out an email to court employees to tell them about two incidents that happened near the courthouse parking garage. One, on June 6, was an alleged assault. The second incident on June 15, was an attempted sexual assault. There have been no arrests in either case.

However, the Precinct 1 Constable's Office has arrested three people in connection to other two incidents.

"There was a guy exposing himself and he ran from our officers and our officers were able to catch him," said Constable Alan Rosen, whose office is responsible for security in the courthouse complex.

Christopher Williams was arrested for disorderly conduct in the June exposure case.

In May, Precinct 1 deputies made another arrest when they looked out their downtown windows and saw two people having sex in a parking lot adjoining their building. Tori Brandon and Marvin Blue were arrested in that case.

These incidents have certainly put people who work in the area on alert.

"Just making sure I watch, like watching to make sure I'm paying attention," says Ellena Garcia, who works in one of the downtown parking garages.

For the past few months, members of the constables, sheriff and Harris County offices have all met on a semi-regular basis to address the safety concerns and improve security. One of the measures they have implemented is installing panic buttons at certain locations within the courthouse complex. The buttons are a direct contact to the Constable's office if something were to go wrong.

In addition, Precinct 1 has two trained K-9 deputies that patrol the courthouse complexes daily. Also, just today, the Harris County Sheriff's Office started a downtown bike patrol.

"I am very pleased with the law enforcement presence," said Constable Rosen. "We're going to start training employees on what to do if they see something."

Rosen added there are more specific security procedures in place which they are not allowed to comment on.