Crime

Cache of cash unloaded in traffic stop

Approximately $129,000 in cash was discovered during a traffic stop by the Beaumont Police Department (BPD) Interdiction Unit detectives on Feb. 18. According to BPD, at 7:30 p.m. while working Interstate 10, detectives observed a Jeep Commander committing numerous traffic violations.

Fleeing motorist indicted after crash reveals cache of drugs

Federico Rodriguez Jr, 22, of Beaumont was indicted Feb. 14 by a Jefferson County grand jury on six felony charges arising from a police pursuit and a significant discovery of narcotics on Aug. 22, 2023.

Accused teen murderer indicted

A Jefferson County grand jury on Feb. 14 returned a murder indictment against 17-yeear-old Terrance Trent Moore, of Beaumont, for the December 2023 murder of Ricky Yates Jr.

Conman restaurateur claims cancer; thousands lost from fundraisers

A former Sour Lake restaurant owner, in jail custody as of press time, is facing several active warrants according to a probable cause affidavit for his arrest, accusing the businessman of multiple allegations of fraud and deception – now committed in mutiple states.

Driver with troubled past killed in crash

A Hardin County man arrested three months ago for possession of child pornography was killed in a single-vehicle crash on FM 92, north of Silsbee, on Feb. 12. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) identified the driver as Wyatt Sawyer, 21, of Lumberton.

Man guilty in sex abuse of 3-year-old

Feb. 8, Whitney Roy Coburn, 45, of Sour Lake, was found guilty of child sex abuse and sentenced to 80 years in prison, according to an announcement by Hardin County District Attorney Rebecca Walton.

Beaumont man threatens to bomb courthouses

Beaumont resident Jonathan Mitchell Palmer, 29, was indicted on Jan. 31 with the third-degree felony charge of Terrorism Threats, Impacting Public Services, Public Fear, Subversive Behavior and Influencing Government after posting bomb threats on Twitter on Nov. 20, 2023.

Trio of teens exchange gunfire during Kia drive-by

Two teens are in jail and a juvenile is in a youth detention facility after all three were taken into custody in connection with a shooting incident at a Silsbee convenience store on Feb. 5. According to Police Chief Shawn Blackwell, at 6:29 p.m.

Officers shoot, kill suspect after brief pursuit

Police responding to a domestic violence call that began in the 3800 block of Beaumont’s North Major Drive on Feb. 4 ultimately shot and killed the suspect after a pursuit that ended in a ditch more than a mile from where the call originated.

Port Arthur JP reindicted on oppression allegation

Attorneys for the Port Arthur Justice of the Peace Tom Gillam case appeared, without the defendant, on Feb.