Four people were indicted on eight felony charges by a Jefferson County grand jury on March 23 in connection with an alleged robbery and assault on a man with disabilities at the Autumn Oaks Apartments.
Beaumont Police Department (BPD) officers were called the scene of the alleged assault at the apartments in the 3100 block of Eastex Freeway around noon on Feb. 13. Upon arrival, officers made contact with a victim who told police he had just suffered several hours of beating and torture, the results of which could be seen in both eyes swollen shut, as well as large swelling across the victim’s forehead, the police detailed.
According to a penned probable cause affidavit to support the arrest of four individuals believed to be the assailants, BPD Detective Jason Torres stated the victim identified the suspects as Rebekah Foyil, 28; Stephen Adams, 27; Louis Franklin, 30; and Equatta Weatherall, 35; all of Beaumont.
During his statement to Detective Torres, the victim advised that Franklin and Adams dragged him from one apartment to another against his will, and then began punching him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground, where he was even more exposed to brutality. According to the affidavit, Franklin and Adams kicked the victim in the face while he lay on the ground, the victim adding that Adams was stomping on his face with steel-toe boots at the time.
The victim reported that Franklin and Adams took his wallet and cell phone from his pockets, and demanded banking information in an attempt to collect his disability money. The victim stated that Weatherall and Foyil continued kicking him on the head while he was on the ground.
Continuing their brutal assault, the victim said that Franklin and Adams tied his hands behind his back, and dragged him to the shower and forced his head under the faucet with the water running (waterboarding-style torture) and demanded the pin code to his phone.
Foyil, Adams, Franklin, and Weatherall were each indicted on charges of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony. Their bonds were set at $400,000 each and all four remained in the Jefferson County Jail at press time.
— Barbara Davis, Staff Writer