Kidnapper Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison

(FORT WORTH, Texas) --  A man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for his role in a kidnap-for-hire scheme in November, according to the Fort Worth Telegram.

Raudel Padilla, 27, is the first of three defendants to be sentenced in the case of a woman who was kidnapped from her Fort Worth home in exchange for $5,000, while her four-year-old child remained in the home alone.

Two of Padilla's co-defendants, 20-year-old Gerardo Padilla and 36-year-old Juan Reyes, are still awaiting their separate trials.

According to investigators, the men told authorities they were hired by an unidentified fourth person to kidnap the woman for $5,000 each in an effort to scare the woman's husband into paying money the setup man believed he was owed.

The woman, who was placed in a shed in a secluded wooden area in Hill County, escaped later that night after the men left her alone.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Dean Foods Suffers Record Net Loss after Litigation Charges

(DALLAS) -- One of the largest dairy distributors in the country, Dean Foods Co., announced Thursday that its second quarter losses—amounting to $51 million—were largely due a $131 million charge toward a class action lawsuit settlement with a Tennessee dairy farmer.

Dairy farmers claiming that Dallas-based Dean and other major buyers worked together to keep milk prices artificially low, thus hindering farmers' profits, filed a suit against the company in July, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Dean denied the accusations, saying it operated fairly, but decided to settle the case in the shareholders' best interest.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Suspect Arrested in Double Homicide

(IRVING, Texas) -- A man is in police custody for the fatal shooting of two people outside the Irving Mall last month.

Lubbock Police released a statement on Wednesday about the arrest of 31 year-old Ladale Cubit in Slaton on Tuesday.

Cubit is suspected in shooting 35-year-old Mehboob Pirani and 35-year-old Rahim Merchant outside an AT&T store on July 24th. Witnesses told police they saw a yellow taxi cab flee the scene. Partial license plates led police to the identity of suspect, who lived in the same apartment complex as Pirani.

The motive for the shooting is unknown. Cubit, who has prior convictions, is being held in Lubbock County Jail without bond. 

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Scorcher: High Temps Continue across Dallas

(DALLAS) -- An excessive heat warning remained in effect for Dallas on Thursday, as high temperatures remain a fixture in the weather forecast.

Temperatures are expected to cross the 100-degree mark every day from Thursday through Monday, based on forecast predictions. The National Weather Service warns that the hot weather means that the risk for heat-related illness or death is high, and residents should take the necessary steps to remain cool.

Several cooling centers are in operation across the Dallas-Fort Worth area to help residents beat the heat.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Investigation Finds Alleged Phony Church 'DarkSide' in Full Swing

(DALLAS) -- Teens at a Dallas youth dance club run by an Internet-ordained minister say it has made a positive impact on their lives and helped them stay off drugs, even though drug dealers do get in.

In an investigation by ABC News affiliate WFAA, teens were interviewed outside a club formerly known as DarkSide that the city has sued to shut down.

The after-hours club is now called Fenix Project and it attracts around 500 teens nearly every weekend from Dallas, Wylie and other North Texas cities.

"I would consider a lot of people here my family," a teen named Brittany told WFAA. "I don't live with my parents. All the people I have met here are people who have helped me in the outside world. They all take care of me."

Owner Glenn Hudson says he helps youth and those who are disadvantaged, but Dallas officials suggest his ministry is more like a church of swing than of God.

The city attorney's office has slapped Hudson with a lawsuit for allegedly running two phony churches -- The Playground and the DarkSide. It says one was a club for swingers with condoms and porn stars, and the other a rave dance hall venue where hard-core drugs were sold to teens.

It alleges both operations are "positively pure fraud" and wants them shut down, according to Melissa Miles, assistant city attorney.

"They wrapped themselves in a religious organization," she said.

Hudson, who does not face criminal charges, only the civil lawsuit intended to halt his activities, told city officials that he was ordained with Universal Life Church and said his work is legitimate.

Owners say the club is an outreach ministry, trying to steer young people in the right direction.

An investigation by Dallas Police undercover agents alleges that drugs are used at the club.

WFAA camera crews witnessed one search outside the club where managers found a bag of hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Attempts by ABC News to find Hudson were unsuccessful, and even city officials said they had a difficult time locating the itinerant minister. His lawyer, Jonathan Bailey, did not return calls from ABC News.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio