Lileana Pearson
Lileana spent 2019-2021 reporting for WOWT in Omaha, NE. During her time in the Midwest, she interviewed nearly a dozen presidential candidates for 2020 Iowa caucus season, covered a historic flood of the Missouri River, and interviewed the first Americans to contract COVID-19 as they were transported to receive treatment at Omaha's biocontainment unit at Nebraska Medicine.
Lileana received her undergraduate in media studies at Lindsey Wilson College in her hometown of Columbia, Kentucky before moving on to earn a master's degree in broadcast and digital journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
Lileana was born in Washington State but has lived in Washington, Rhode Island, Kentucky, New York, Nebraska, North Carolina and now Texas. She did most of her growing up in rural Kentucky, so she calls that home.
She is thrilled to have landed in the Lone Star State and looks forward to many new, exciting adventures here in Houston and around the state. In her off time, you can find her walking her dog Lentil, enjoying the outdoors, or getting creative in the kitchen.
If you have a story, issue, or concern, reach out to Lileana on her social media or at Lileana.x.pearson@abc.com. She looks forward to telling your stories!
Lileana's Stories
ONLY ON 13: Charges dropped against daycare owner accused of endangering children
The Harris County DA said the charges against a daycare owner accused of leaving five children alone in a hot car last August could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
$60K in tax dollars are funding Mayor Whitmire's new podcast, according to city records
In documents obtained by ABC13, the business producing the podcast starring Mayor Whitmire is being paid $60,000 in taxpayer money and didn't have to place a bid for the work.
Man charged with manslaughter in crash that killed 5 year-old girl, police say
The 60-year-old is accused of causing a crash that killed a 5-year-old child who was not properly secured in his car, according to police.
2 moms arrested, charged after leaving toddlers home alone in separate incidents: Harris Co. Pct. 4
Two mothers are accused of allowing their toddlers to wander their neighborhoods after admitting to leaving their children home alone, according to authorities.
Spring ISD adding additional school days at 2 academically struggling campuses
Two Spring ISD campuses will have nine additional school days on the coming academic calendar. This change comes as the district forges ahead on a path to turn around academics at several schools.
Magnolia mayor behaved inappropriately leading up to alleged assault of pregnant employee: Lawsuit
A lawsuit filed by the Magnolia city secretary alleges she sustained months of unwanted sexual jokes and comments from the mayor before he assaulted her last year.
Political experts say DHS is cracking down on illegal voting through voter record subpoenas
ABC13 has confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security is subpoenaing voter records from several surrounding counties, and that it's only a matter of time before one is sent to Harris County.
Texas man charged after allegedly throwing explosive at OpenAI CEO's California home, officials say
The suspect, Daniel Moreno-Gama, who has ties to Texas, was allegedly caught on surveillance outside the CEO's home in San Francisco, court records said.
Smokable hemp ban temporarily lifted, shops can sell smokable products again, Texas judge says
In a victory for the hemp industry, a Travis County judge ruled that smokable hemp products that were banned last week can once again be sold in shops for now.
Teacher charged after falsely setting off panic alarm, leading to Splendora HS lockdown, MCSO says
Officials determined that the incident was a hoax, adding that there was no fight, but a teacher suffered self-inflicted injuries and pressed a district-issued panic alarm.