Weekend Beach Trip Ends In Death

THE POLICE NEWS
VOLUME 1 • ISSUE 4
SOUTHEAST TEXAS EDITION
November 2007
Weekend Beach
Trip Ends In Death
The
Kimberley
Langwell
Story
The Murder Of Bridgette Gearen,
A Young Mother From Orange
Kimberly Langwell’s (top) 1994
Nissan Altima (left) was discovered at a parking lot on Phelan
Blvd. in Beaumont, the day after
she left to run an errand.
Signs Pointed To Trouble
For Missing Woman
By Mary Meaux,
The Police News Contributor
leaving her teenage daughter at home,
and promising to return shortly. Susan
Butts, Langwell’s sister, sheds some
light on the last day family members
saw the Beaumont woman. “She went
to work that day, got off work, and
told her daughter she had to stop by
an ex-boyfriend’s house. She would
only be gone about an hour or hourand-a-half,” she said. “Afterwards,
she was to return home. My niece
began worrying when she didn’t
return and thought that maybe Kim
had changed her plans. The next day
my niece called me and said Kim’s
car had been found in a parking lot.”
Butts said Langwell’s current
boyfriend retraced the path she would
have taken and on his return trip,
discovered her car in a parking lot at
Phelan and Dowlen Streets.
Beaumont Police Detectives Roger
Richmond and Darrin Childress
opened the Langwell file recently to
The Police News to talk about her
case in hopes of generating some
leads. On Childress’ desk sits a large
box with numbers written on the side.
Kimberly Langwell once told her
sister where to find her body if she
ever went missing. Langwell also told
her sister that if anyone ever tried to
tell her that she committed suicide,
not to believe it. These remarks were
prompted by a turbulent relationship
with an ex-boyfriend who some
friends and family members are
convinced had something to do with
her disappearance. On the night of
July 9, 1999, Kimberly Langwell left
home to run an errand and never came
back.
The next day Langwell’s 1994
Nissan Altima was discovered in a
shopping center parking lot at 6470
Phelan Boulevard in Beaumont.
Inside the car were items a woman
would normally have taken with her
if she were going to leave her car.
Langwell has never been found and
her case is still classified as a missing
person’s case with the Beaumont
Police Department.
So, what happened to Langwell?
She was only to be gone for a short,
Langwell story Page 2
By victoria scott,
The Police News Contributor
28-year old Bridgette Gearen of
Orange in Southeast Texas, like many
of us, wanted to escape from the
rigors of everyday life and have fun
with friends at the beach. However,
things went terribly wrong she was
found dead a few hundred yards
from the beach house where she was
weekending with friends her body
discovered at the waters edge.
Gearen and her 2-year old
daughter Kyla had driven to Crystal
Beach Saturday, July 15th, a popular
community on Bolivar Peninsula in
Galveston County. The two of them
planned to spend the weekend with
four other couples and their children
at a rented beach house returning
home the next day, Sunday. Monday
was a work day.
Late that Saturday night, some in
the group decided to take a midnight
ride down the beach just to see
what they could see. Bridgette left
the house a few minutes before the
others. We have not learned why she
decided to venture out alone, before
the others, into the night, leaving
Kyla with friends in the beach house.
By the time the others got outside she
was nowhere in sight. They searched
all around but she was nowhere to be
found.
Several hours passed. Bridgette
would never be gone from her
daughter for that length of time. The
friends became worried and called
the sheriff’s department. It was later
determined that by that time Bridgette
had already been brutally beaten,
raped, strangled, and left dead near
the surf.
Bridgette Gearen was a young,
attractive woman with a bubbling
Bridgette Gearen with her daughter
Kyla.
personality that just naturally attracted
people. She was five feet, three
inches tall, about 110 pounds with
brown hair and deep blue eyes. That
night when she left the beach house
she was wearing a halter top and blue
jean shorts, typical beach wear.
When word of the murder circulated
through the small beach community,
residents and tourists alike were sent
reeling in disbelief. They couldn’t
fathom what had happened.
“These things happen, but not at this
beach,” said Bob McMeekin, owner
of Bob’s Sports Bar and Restaurant
a hot spot for beach goers during the
summer tourist season.
An autopsy later determined that
Gearen had been savagely beaten with
some sort of blunt instrument. Her
head and face suffered massive injury,
but what caused her death was manual
strangulation, she was choked to death.
She had been raped by her attacker
and, according to the pathologist, she
fought back. There were indications
of a vicious fight which resulted in the
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Langwell story from Page 1
Inside the box, which is one of many
boxes related to the case, are reports
and notes dating back eight years,
to the very beginning of the case.
Newspaper clippings from various
stories published through the years are
also in the box. Police have collected
every little bit of information they
could find regarding the missing
woman.
Childress and Richmond explain the
initial investigation began with Sgt.
Joe Ball. His wife, Detective Cindy
Ball, did a lot of leg work on the case,
following up on any and all leads in
hopes of solving the case.
Neither Childress nor Richmond
could speculate about the exboyfriend Butts mentioned, but did
say that police interviewed Langwell’s
family members, co-workers, friends,
persons-of-interest, acquaintances and
friends of Langwell’s daughter during
the investigation. Currently police are
going back and re-interviewing all
the people they originally spoke
with, saying this is common police
procedure during an investigation of
this nature.
“Her (Langwell) daughter was close
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Langwell (right) had many friends and a
good sense of humor.
to her and they talked to each other all
the time,” Childress said. “It wasn’t
like Langwell not to call. The daughter
was expecting her home that night.”
Richmond added that people
were brought in to the station and
“looked at” very closely during the
investigation. While the case is now
eight years old, it is still an active case
but there is a downside to a case lasting
so long. Both detectives say the case
becomes more frustrating over time.
They hope that by re-interviewing
people they will find something they
may have previously missed. And now
that Langwell’s daughter is an adult,
she may be able to shed more light
into the case. And Langwell’s family
wants closure. Butts said Langwell’s
daughter has since married and moved
out of state but has not spoke of the
disappearance of her mother to anyone
in her new hometown.
“People would feel sorry for us.
We would get this pitiful look when
we told people about Kim,” Butts
said. “But we don’t want people to
just hear the story and go home and
forget about it. We want them to tell
the story to other people.” Butts said
her niece is tired of the pitiful looks,
and now when people ask of her
mother, she just tells them that her
INDEX
Langwell Story...................... 1, 2, 4
Beach Murder-Gearen.......... 1, 3, 5
Fugitives........................................ 4
Executions.................................... 6
Crime Stoppers Merge................. 7
Fallen Officers.............................. 8
Sex Offenders............................... 9
Grantham Story.......................... 10
Advertising:
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[email protected]
Breck Porter
– Editor
[email protected]
Published by:
Beaumont Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 12578
Beaumont, TX 77702
Copyright 2007
All rights reserved
mother died a few years back as a
way to avoid the unwanted attention.
This is one of the deep emotional
factors the family now feels; pity from
outsiders. But it’s not pity Butts wants,
she wants answers, she wants to know
what happened to her sister, to know
where she is, justice for the one she
believes killed her sister and to find
closure.
“Her personality was very unique
because she had such a good sense
of humor that came off in a dry
way,” she said. “I’m the same
way. Her sense of humor was
hilarious.” Langwell would tease
Butts’ son, especially when she would
call. But she never really teased Butts’
daughter because Langwell saw her
own daughter in Butts’ daughter. She
babied her, she said. The missing
Beaumont woman could also tell some
“fish stories,” her sister said, adding
Langwell could be a drama queen.
But during Langwell’s relationship
with the man Butts refers to as the
“ex,” family and friends noticed a
change in the air. “We started seeing
warning signs about six months before
she went missing. A close friend of her
saw the same thing,” she said.
The warning signs Butts refer to
is obsessive behavior on the “ex’s”
part. She also believes the ex called
and harassed her, in the months after
Langwell was reported missing. Butts
started a Web site about her missing
sister with photographs and details of
the person she believes is behind the
disappearance of Langwell. The Web
site may be viewed online at http://
kimlangwell.homestead.com.
Butts is 100 percent convinced her
sister is dead and has felt that way
since her car was discovered in 1999.
Her disappearance, not returning, not
letting family know where she was,
was not typical behavior for her.
On the Web site, Susan sends a
prayer out to her sister. “I pray every
single day that we find you. I think
back to the last time I talked to you
that Thursday night, before you were
murdered. If I would have known I
would never hear your voice again,
I would have never hung that phone
up. We miss you and love you so
much! I promise you that I will not
give up. You deserve so much more.
Until you’re found, I will continue to
ask God everyday for his help. I love
you,” she said.
Butts’ is asking anyone who reads
this to help search for her sister. “If
you have property or know of property
some place that could be searched
please check that property. If you ride
4-wheelers or horses, please take the
time to keep an eye out for anything
that looks suspicious. When Kim
was murdered we had been in a long
drought. The soil was very, very hard.
langwell story Page 4
The Police News - Southeast Texas Edition - FREE
beach murder from Page 1
recovery of forensic
evidence which will
be very important
in
identifying
her
assailant.
Investigators will
not comment on the
type or quantity of
evidence, but it is
usual in cases like
this, that a victim
will have blood
from her attacker
on her on own
body or clothing,
or morsels of flesh
under her fingernails
from scratching and
clawing during the
struggle. Samples Bridgette Gearen
believed to be similar to these have
been sent to a forensic lab and may
play a vital role in the solution of this
case.
Detectives investigating the case
say there is no doubt the attacker
would have had some visible injuries,
scratches, cuts and maybe even bite
marks. They immediately issued
press releases in the local area asking
the public to report anyone that may
be considered suspect in Gearen’s
murder. If there was anyone in the
area showing indications of fresh
injuries, anyone acting strange or
unusual or suspicious, they wanted to
know about them.
The morning after the murder,
Galveston Police bloodhounds as well
as the Sheriff’s Mounted Posse joined
volunteers from Texas EquuSearch
combing miles of beach and sand
dunes, looking for any trace of
evidence that may lead investigator’s
to a suspect. They were back the
following weekend and did it all over
again. “We want to see this solved,”
said Major Ray Tuttoilmondo of the
Galveston County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were at the beach and
covering the entire peninsula talking
to beach goers, campers, residents,
visitors, gathering information and
passing out flyers seeking public
feedback.
Tuttoilmondo said in a recent
interview that over 180 tips have been
received by the sheriff’s department
and through Crime Stoppers. One
such tip came from the Golden
Triangle area, Beaumont, Port
Arthur, Orange. Witnesses reported
they had seen Gearen near a vehicle
that night, but no one said they saw
anything suspicious. They had heard
some screams in the area, but they
couldn’t relate it to the dead girl or
the vehicle.
From this information investigators
issued an all-points-bulletin for a late
model, small to mid-size, 4-door,
SUV, dark blue, gray or black in
color, with a rear
mounted spare tire
and a Dole light
(brake light over
the rear window).
The vehicle was
said to have heavily
tinted windows.
The investigation
took a serious
detour at one point
when a so-called
informant in the
Beaumont
area
fed investigators
some logical but
false information
that sent them on a
wild goose chase.
Detectives spent
over fifteen hours tracking false leads
that the man later confessed were
given in order to, “get back at his
neighbor.”
“It was all a hoax,” said Major
Tuttoilmondo, “and we may file
charges on the man yet.”
“There has been, since day one,
tireless hours and thousands and
thousands of miles covered running
down leads on this case,” said
Lieutenant Tommy Hansen, the lead
detective. Hansen happened to be the
criminal investigator on call on the
weekend of the murder. “In a case like
this, even though I have the lead on it,
in that I was the original investigator,
it is truly one of those type cases
where every single investigator in the
office has dedicated untold hours,”
has told The Police News in a recent
interview.
“I have been in this business for
thirty plus year and I can tell you
that this is probably one of the most
brutal cases that I have ever had the
unfortunate duty of investigating,”
said Hansen.
Hansen revealed for the first time
that there may have been more than
one person in the car carrying the killer
of Bridgette Gearen. “What we do
know, based on some information that
we have, we feel pretty comfortable
that there was probably more than
one person in that car, which to me is
probably a good thing, although not
for her. It enhances the chances of
solvability because if you’ve only got
one person, you don’t have a weak
link in the chain. When you have two
people, you may have a weak link.
You may have some person that has
a conscience and will come forth at
some time in the future.”
“We have some leads that we’re
looking at. We have a few ‘persons
of interest’ but nothing that we will
commit to as saying we have a good
suspect by any means and we’re just
hoping that someone will call us,”
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It was so dry the soil was cracking,”
she said.
Butts’ also believes there is a good
chance her sister’s body was dumped
in a well somewhere near Beaumont
and asks the public to search old wells
for her body and report any findings
to the police.
When the case appeared on the
local Crime Stoppers segment, police
received numerous calls and did many
follow-ups on the tips. But the case
remains unsolved.
Childress sent out a plea to the public
regarding Langwell. “What if this was
your daughter or wife?” he said. “No
matter how minute the information
you have is, it might be tremendous
to the investigation and open this case
wide up.”
Kimberly Langwell was 34 years
old at the time of her disappearance.
She is a white female with blonde hair,
blue eyes, 5 foot 3 and a half inches
tall and about 130 pounds. If you have information about this
or any of felony crime, call Crime
Stoppers at 833-8477 (TIPS). If your
information leads to the arrest and
grand jury indictment of the person
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The Police News - Southeast Texas Edition - FREE
November 2007 - Page beach murder from Page 3
concluded the Lieutenant.
The nature and brutality of the
murder and the popularity of the
victim were such that the case became
an instant high profile case. It aroused
public sentiment throughout the Texas
Gulf Coast and Southeast Texas area.
The story went nationwide when
it was featured on Americas Most
Wanted television show and was the
top story on AMV.Com.
Detectives continued their plea
for public help. There was bound to
be someone, somewhere that knew
something about this murder, or at
least have some suspicions about it.
They asked for all tips, no matter how
far fetched or how trivial, to be called
in. “That stretch of the beach is the
busiest,” McMeekin said. “The beach
was packed that day, surely somebody
saw something.” It may have been
packed that day, but this was shortly
after midnight. Most people were
sleeping or in nearby bars, taverns or
honky tonks. Even beach campers
were bedded down inside their tents
or snoozing in their nap-sacks.
McMeekin, a board member of the
local Chamber of Commerce met
with other business owners and came
up with a $15,000 cash reward for
information leading to the arrest of
Bridgette Gearen’s killer.
Finding this girl’s killer became a
B-Z Gun & Repair
Military Surplus
community passion. Everyone was
passing out flyers. Texas First Bank
posted the reward information on it’s
marquee outside its bank on Highway
87 the main passageway across the
peninsula.
A reward fund was established at
the bank and money started rolling
in. “Since the account was opened
we’ve had several businesses and area
citizens donate,” said Stormy Barrow,
the branch manager. “We’ve even had
money come in through the mail.”
The account is still open and anyone
wishing to contribute may still do
so. The mailing information is at the
conclusion of this story.
More than 100 friends and relatives
were at Gearan’s funeral. Emotions
were high as they mourned the tragic
loss of this vibrant, young mother who
dared to step out of the beach house
alone, only to be disposed of by some
vile creature that raped and murdered
then slithered away in the darkness of
night leaving broken hearts and ended
dreams in his wake.
During the funeral service,
Bridgette’s mother, Pam Kimball
eulogized her daughter. “I don’t know
what I would have done without my
previous baby girl. You are still a
very real blessing in my life. I love
you very much and I am so proud of
you and your baby girl.”
Stephen Mayfield, Gearen’s coworker at a Beaumont law firm
reminisced of their back and forth
emails at work. “She once sent me
an email and said she was sorry if it
sounded like she was fussing at me,”
he said. “I didn’t take it as if she was
fussing at me at all.”
Donald Rhodes, Jr. once worked
with Bridgette at a restaurant in
Orange. “She was a very vibrant
person and full of energy. She was
loved by everyone,” he said.
Although the Galveston County
Sheriff’s Office is the lead agency in
the investigation of Gearen’s murder,
lawmen everywhere would consider it
a crowning achievement to be the one
to finally snap the handcuffs on the
person who snuffed out the life of this
beautiful woman and loving mother.
Tuttoilmondo says, “Somebody out
there knows something and they’re
talking about it. They’re just not
talking to us. He urges anyone with
any information, be it gossip, hearsay,
bar talk or whatever, call investigators
at 409-766-2222 or nationwide toll
free at 1-866-248-8477.
To contribute to the Bridgette
Gearen Reward Fund, mail your
check to: Texas First Bank, PO Box
1437, Crystal Beach, Texas 77650 or
you may deposit to the fund at any
Texas First Bank location.
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Page • November 2007
The Police News - Southeast Texas Edition - FREE
Texas Executions
Scheduled Execution – November 6, 2007
Allen Bridgers was taken from death
row to a Smith County court in January
to receive his date of execution, set
for Nov. 6.
Bridgers, 36, was sentenced to die
by lethal injection for robbing and
killing Mary Amie in 1997. The
Virginia transient had been living
with the 53-year-old victim when he
shot her to death and stole her car,
jewelry and money before fleeing to
Florida.
His execution was scheduled for
July 2006, but he filed a last-minute
claim that he was mentally retarded.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in
2002 that it was unconstitutional to
execute the mentally retarded.
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allen bridgers
Black Male
DOB: March 3, 1971
Native of Portsmouth
City Virginia
Occupation: Unknown
Education: 10th Grade
After a days-long hearing, 114th
District Judge Cynthia Stevens Kent
ruled that Bridgers was not mentally
retarded. The Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals agreed with her ruling and
ordered Judge Kent to set his death
date.
Defense attorney Bobby Mims, and
Smith County District Attorney Matt
Bingham said they were not aware
of any current stays of execution in
Bridgers’ case.
Mims asked Judge Kent to not set
the date of execution until the U.S.
Supreme Court rules on a Kentucky
case, which claims lethal injection
is cruel and unusual punishment. He
said there have been two Texas cases
that have received stays of execution
pending the ruling and he expected
the Supreme Court to rule on the
matter during its current term.
Assistant District Attorney Mike
West said the issue of whether lethal
injection is unconstitutional has not
been raised in Bridgers’ case as it
had in the others. Bingham asked
the judge to follow the Court of
Criminal Appeals’ mandate and set
the execution.
Judge Kent said she was aware cases
had been stayed but the Supreme
Court also denied a stay of execution
in one Texas case. She denied Mims’
request to delay the proceedings and
said Bridgers’ attorneys could file
for relief with the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals.
Bridgers, who was 27 at the time of
the 1997 murder, came to Tyler from
Virginia with the victim’s relative, a
truck driver. Working as a bricklayer,
Bridgers lived with Ms. Amie at her
Tyler home.
Bridgers told police he waited in
bed with a .38-caliber pistol under
his pillow until Ms. Amie came home
from work and took a shower. When
she crawled into bed, he shot her in
the back and face, stole $1,400 cash,
her car, purse and jewelry, and fled to
Florida. Bridgers said he was high on
cocaine at the time.
Bridgers is currently represented
by Jared Tyler, David Dow and Jason
Luong, all of the Texas Innocence
Network in Houston.
There are no other executions
scheduled in Texas in 2007.
update: Stay Of Execution
On Tuesday, October 16,
the U.S. District Court for
the Eastern District of Texas
in Sherman issued a stay of
execution for Allen Bridgers
to permit consideration of
his federal habeas petition.
That petition raises a mental
retardation claim.
According to Laurie
Saathoff of the Texas
Attorney Generals Office, the
stay is completely unrelated
to the lethal injection
issue now before the U.S.
Supreme Court.
The Police News - Southeast Texas Edition - FREE
November 2007 - Page Orange Presents Check to EasTex Crimestoppers
The City of Orange and the Orange Conventions and Visitors Bureau presented a check of $500 to EasTex Crimestoppers Tuesday after their assistance with the
boat races in Orange a couple of weeks ago. Orange and Orange County recently joined forces with EasTex Crimestoppers, who now covers six counties and the
cities within. Left to Right: Jimmie Lewis, Darlene Zavada, John Underhill (board member), Shawn Oubre, Joe Goetcher (board member), Danny Mallet (Executive
Director), Dan Coleman (board member) Dana Wasser (Treasurer), Officer Chad Hogan (Coordinator)
Crime Stoppers Continue Merging: Orange Co. Joins In
The Executive Director of EasTex Crime
Stoppers has announced the law enforcement
agencies of Orange County voted in October to
merge with EasTexas Crime Stoppers, increasing
membership in that organization to six counties.
EasTex Crime Stoppers welcomes Orange
County and Sheriff Mike White along with the
City Police Departments of Orange Chief Sam
Kittrell, West Orange Chief Mike Stelly, Pinehurst
Chief Dan Robertson, Vidor Chief Steve Conroy,
and Bridge City Chief Steve Faircloth.
EasTex Crime Stoppers is a partnership between
citizens of the community and the following
Police and Sheriff’s Departments: Hardin
County Sheriff’s Department, Newton County
Sheriff’s Department, Liberty County Sheriff’s
Department, Jasper County Sheriff’s Department,
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, Orange
County Sheriff’s Department, Groves Police
Department, Port Arthur Police Department,
Kountze Police Department , Nederland Police
Department , Sour Lake Police Department,
Port Neches Police Department , Silsbee Police
Department, Lumberton Police Department ,
Daisetta PoliceDepartment, Kirbyville Police
Department , Dayton Police Department,
Cleveland Police Department ,West Orange
Police Department, Orange Police Department,
Bridge City Police Department, Vidor Police
Department, Pinehurst Police Department.
Start A New Career!
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
Employment Opportunities
2008 Peace Officer academy
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Academy is now
accepting applications for the 2008
Peace Officer Academy.
cOrrectiOns Officer
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has 10 openings for
Correctional Officers. Starting salary of $13.40 per hour.
The mission of the Jefferson County
Correctional Facility is to provide the safe
and secure detention of offenders in order
to protect the staff, inmates and citizens of
Jefferson County.
Applicant must:
Academy start date January 7th
Pickup your application at the training office.
For more information call:
training Office • (409) 726-2521
[email protected]
• Reside within a 50 mile radius of the Jefferson
County Courthouse.
• Be atleast 21 years old
• Posses a valid Texas Driver’s License with a
good driving record and proof of insurance.
• Have a High School Diploma or GED with
minimum of 12 college hours.
• Not ever be convicted of an offense above
the grad of Class B misdemeanor or a Class B
misdemeanor within the last 10 years.
• Background investigation and personal
interviews by representatives of the Jefferson
CountySheriff’sOffice.
• Must have maintained a good credit rating.
Equal Opportunity
Employer
Apply At:
JefffersOn cOunty
cOrrectiOnal facility
5030 Hwy 69 South • BMT, TX 77705
(409) 720-4002
Page • November 2007
The Police News - Southeast Texas Edition - FREE
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Detective Milton Thomas Levy II
Port Arthur Police Department
End of Watch: Saturday, November 14, 1992
Age: 35
Detective Levy died of a heart attack while arresting a man for assault.
Detective Levy was at the police department when a call came out for an
assault in progress at 0145 hours. He ran approximately one block to the scene
where he found the woman being violently assaulted. He suffered the heart
attack while stopping the assault. Responding officers administered CPR but
he was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
City Marshal Joseph J. (Joe) Jordan
Orange Police Department
End of Watch: Wednesday, November 5, 1902
Age: 62
Tour of Duty: 6 months
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Weapon Used: Handgun
Marshal Joseph Jordan was shot and killed as he walked a prisoner to the city
jail.
The Marshal had just arrested the prisoner for murdering a man during a
personal dispute. As the two walked to the jail, Marshal Jordan was shot by the
prisoner’s brother in an attempt to free him.
The suspect was arrested and charged with Marshal Jordan’s murder. He was
convicted and sentenced to 5 years in prison.
Marshal Jordan had served with the Orange Police Department only for 6
months.
Guard W. F. Carr
Jefferson County Convict Camp
End of Watch: Saturday, November 3, 1906
Age: 25
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Saturday, November 3, 1906
Weapon Used: Officer’s shotgun
Suspect Info: Harry Williams
W. F. Carr was employed as a night convict guard for the Jefferson County
convict camp where convicts worked on public roads as a part of their
punishment. On Saturday, November 3, 1906, the guards and convicts left the
camp to go to work on the roads. Harry Williams, a sailor, was a trusty and the
camp cook. Night Guard Carr, who slept during the day, retired to his bed.
Williams slipped into the room and took Carr’s Winchester shotgun and
fired a blast into his head. Williams stole Carr’s revolver and fled. The guards
discovered Carr dead in his bed when they returned that night and alerted area
police. Williams was arrested later that night in Beaumont and confessed. On
January 24, 1907, Williams was tried and convicted of the murder of W. F. Carr
and sentenced to be hanged. He received several reprieves and shortly before
his scheduled execution in August of 1907, Governor Campbell commuted his
sentence to life in prison based on Williams’ mental incapacity.
Very little is known about W. F. Carr. He was between 23-25 years old and
was reported to be both a widower with 2 children in Tyler County, and having
a wife and 4 children he abandoned in Caldwell County to escape indebtedness.
His father, R. M. Carr, took the body back to Lockhart for burial but no records
could be located as to where he was buried. It is suspected that he is buried
in Bunton Cemetery in Dale, Caldwell County, but no grave site has been
located.
The Police News - Southeast Texas Edition - FREE
November 2007 - Page registered
sex offenders
HARDIN • JeffeRsoN • oRANGe COUNTY
Convicted Sex Offenders are required by Texas law to register with law enforcement in the city in which they reside.These Sex Offenders are not
wanted by the law...they are published for Community Awareness in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies. Please contact the local police department if
you know any registered sex offender that is residing at a different address than reported.
SHANE ALLEN BEARDEN
ALBERT J III BOURGEOIS
HAZEL FELIX BRANHAM
RONNIE ADAM CLOUD
ROY STANLEY ACREE
DWAYNE LARUE ADAIR
Gender: Male
DOB: 07/19/1976
Address: 5303 David, Orange, Tx
Poss 7 Promotion of Child Porn
Risk Level: NOT AVAILABLE - Paroled
Orange County Sheriff
Gender: Male
DOB: 01/13/1972
Address: 18850 Hwy 62 So. Apt 7, Orange, Tx
Aggravated Sexual Asslt Victim: Female Age 13
Risk Level: MODERATE
Orange County Sheriff
Gender: Male
DOB: 04/04/1961
Address: 2495 Gulf St., Beaumont, Tx
Indecency w/a Child, Sexual Contact Female Age 5
Risk Level: HIGH - Paroled
Beaumont Police Dept.
CURTIS ALLIN APPLEBY
Gender: Male
DOB: 09/07/1951
Address: 985 Cartwright, Apt 2, Beaumont, Tx
Indecency w/a Child, Sexual Exposure
Indecency w/a Child, Sexual Contact
Female Age 12
Risk Level: HIGH - Paroled
Beaumont Police Dept.
RYNELL JAMES HULIN
Gender: Male
DOB: 07/01/1981
Address: Unknown
Sexual Assault: Female Age 15
Risk Level: MODERATE - Discharged TDC
Hardin County Sheriff
Gender: Male
DOB: 01/28/1952
Address: 2717 Enner, Apt B, Orange, Tx
Indecency w/a Child, Sexual Contact
(2 counts Victim Age 12)
Risk Level: NOT AVAILABLE - Discharged
Orange Police Dept.
Gender: Male
DOB: 06/25/1965
Address: 2309 Manley Cr. Orange, Tx
Indecency w/a Child (X 2) Males Ages 8 & 10
Risk Level: HIGH - Discharged TDC
Orange Police Dept.
Gender: Male
DOB: 09/08/1964
Address: 3977 Ave A, Apt H, Beaumont, Tx
Court Ordered Registration
Risk Level: HIGH - Paroled
Beaumont Police Dept.
GABRIEL AGUILAR
Gender: Male
DOB: 09/24/1964
Address: 6590 College St. Apt 19, Beaumont, Tx
Indecency w/a Child, Sexual Exposure
(2 counts) Victim: Female Age 12
Risk Level: HIGH - Paroled
Beaumont Police Dept.
ROGER ALAN BAKER
Gender: Male
DOB: 08/21/1959
Address: 3216 FM 1392, Silsbee, Tx
Victim: Sexual Assault Female Age 24
Risk Level: MODERATE - Discharged TDC
Hardin County Sheriff
The Texas Department of Public Safety has a free Sex Offender search on the
internet: http://www.records.txdps.state.tx.us/ Click on Sex Offender registry on left
side of page. To search for sex offenders in other states go to: http://www.nsopr.gov/
SPONSORED BY ADVERTISEMENT
Page 10 • November 2007
The Police News - Southeast Texas Edition - FREE
Has Anyone Seen Kaycee Lynn Grantham?
Her Life May Depend On You
Lewis is the same man Plano Police
By breck porter,
say assaulted beat up Kaycee’s mom
The Police News Editor
The mother of 15-year old Kaycee and stole her car back in September.
Lynn Grantham is worried sick over Why she would willingly leave Plano
her disappearance from their home in and travel with Austin after that is
Plano, Texas. She is worried not only anyone’s guess. The mother says
because she is only fifteen and has Austin is an ex- boyfriend who lived
been gone for over a month but more with her, Kaycee and her 14-year old
son before they had a fight and he left,
worried because of who she is with.
Lori Grantham said that police taking Kaycee with him.
Actually, from the information we
investigating her daughter’s
have gathered, it appears
disappearance reported that
Austin would still be in
she has been seen in Vidor
the penitentiary had he not
in the company of a 34-year
been released before his
old ex-convict by the name
sentence was fully served.
of Shawn Lewis Austin,
Following
convictions
who claims to belong to the
for
manufacturing
and
Arian Brotherhood, white
delivering
drugs
he
was
sent
supremist group. Vidor has
to the Texas pen supposedly
been the nesting ground for
the KKK and people of that Shawn Lewis Austin until August 2009 but he
was released in April of this
ilk for decades.
year
and
already he is implicated in
Most who know him say Austin
the
disappearance
of this 15-year old
hooked up with some of these
girl.
skinheads in prison and became a
Actually Austin is well known to
wannabe brother. But most doubt the
police
all over the Dallas area and in
real brotherhood would have an idiot
nearby
Collin County. He has been
like him for a member because of the
handled
by police for drug violations,
outlandishly stupid things he does,
driving
drunk,
and burglary. At one
such as hauling a 15-year old girl
time
he
lived
at
a
Willow Lane address
away from her mother.
If you have any information
pertaining to this case,
please call the Orange
County Sheriff’s Office
409-883-2612 or
EasTex Crime Stoppers
409-742-8477 (TIPS).
Crime Stoppers pays cash
rewards for information leading
to the arrest and grand jury
indictment of any felony fugitive
and you are not required to
identify yourself in order
to collect the reward.
Kaycee Lynn Grantham
in Plano with four other people, three
of whom were also crooks and exconvicts. It turns out they were all
related to one of his ex-wives.
The mother told reporters in
early October that it is not like her
daughter to just take off without
saying anything to any of her friends
or family. According to her, they left
without money, completely broke,
and with only a tank of gas. Of
course that usually doesn’t matter to a
criminal who steals and robs everyday
to survive.
The search continues for the pair.
Assuming they are still together
and assuming they are still in the
Golden Triangle area, people should
know that Austin is a full fledged
criminal and will stop at nothing
to keep from being arrested. He is
wanted by several police agencies on
outstanding warrants for robbery and
parole violation. Plano police say he
should be considered dangerous and
may become violent. We know he
can become violent because he beatup Kaycee’s mom before he went on
the run taking Kaycee with him.
Sheriff’s deputies in Orange County
would like to hear from you if you
have seen Kaycee Lynn Grantham
and/or Shawn Lewis Austin, or if you
have heard anything from or about
them.
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The Police News - Southeast Texas Edition - FREE
November 2007 - Page 11
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Page 12 • November 2007
The Police News - Southeast Texas Edition - FREE
Martha E. Kapparis
5675 Eastex Fwy., Ste. M6
Beaumont, Tx 77706
(409) 892-6400
‘89 Jeep wrangler
6 Cyl,
Auto
‘01 Ford explorer
loAded!
‘00 Pontiac Grand AM
‘96 Chrysler lHS
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‘97 lincoln Town Car
‘01 Suzuki esteem
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‘93 Chevy ext. Cab
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3154 Saba Lane, Ste. B
Port Neches, Tx 77651
(409) 724-2422
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Vidor, Tx 77632
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