Beaumont brisket bandits indicted

Two Beaumont men were indicted Sept 30 for their alleged responsibility in the theft of food meant to feed those mourning the death of a young BPD officer in August. 

According to the indictment, Darryl Keith Johnson, 56, and Tomas Jesus Moraida, 52, were caught on camera relieving Courville’s Catering of six briskets, a shop vac and an antique boat motor. The total estimated value of the stolen items was listed as $750. 

Courville’s Manager Jesse Courville told officers the six briskets were placed in the barbeque pit the night before the robbery that occurred Aug. 14. The food was intended to serve BPD officers in the wake of losing one of their newest members, Officer Sheena Yarbrough-Powell. 

BPD detectives contacted the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office to identify the suspects, and the department positively identified one of the suspects as Moraida. His sister spoke to detectives and confirmed his identity. 

Moraida’s neighbors identified Johnson from the same surveillance footage. Johnson denied being the suspect when shown the video by officers. However, Johnson’s common law spouse of 27 years told officers it was indeed her spouse in the video. She identified the shirt he was wearing and will be turning over the shirt as evidence, according to the indictment.