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Houston Law Firm: Odessa tops most dangerous city in Texas list

Research from the Darrow Law Firm in Houston placed Odessa and Midland in the top dangerous cities in Texas list.

MIDLAND-ODESSA, TX (KWES) - Is Odessa the most dangerous city in Texas? That's what a law firm in Houston is saying, but, Odessa police beg to differ.

According to the Darrow Law Firm, they looked at three factors, crime, police presence and socioeconomic factors, to find out what cities with more than 100,000 residents were the most dangerous and had the most crime.

We took it to the streets asking the people who call Odessa home, what they thought were the main reasons.

"Because everybody don't have a job and they just want to find a way to make money. So they are going around stealing or beating up older people," said Odessa, Resident Cody Stewart.

"Money, I mean people start stressing over money they start going crazy," said Adrian Valles, a West Texas Resident. "Like they say money is the root of all evil, and it brings a lot of problems."

These answers go hand in hand with the study.

The law firm says there's a very strong indicator where there is more poverty there will be more crime.

Residents say, the logic is simple.

"If the person who was going around stealing was educated, they could get a job," said Stewart.

"One things drives the other, but I don't think it has to do with education, parents at home can teach their kids at a very young age," said an Odessa worker.

The study supports these statements adding education reduces criminal activity significantly.

As you might recall some of the most notable crimes within the last few months include two officer involved shootings in Odessa.

The first Roy Daniel Garza charged with eight counts of attempted capital murder of peace officer after he shot Sgt. Pete Gonzales and Officer Cory Wester with OPD.

The second one was a shooting at the Quality Inn. Officers were trying to serve a warrant for Jody Threadgill when Joel Fabela opened the hotel door, got into a physical fight with police. He reached for a gun, Police returned fire and Fabela died.

Odessa Police's Corporal Steve LeSueur emphasized the study was done with 2014 data and a population of 100,000, meaning he does not believe this is accurate and Odessa should not rank number one. LeSueur says crime is higher than he would like it to be but Odessa is not the most dangerous city in Texas.

Click here to view the research.

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