Henderson County Sheriff’s Office press release
Thursday, Wednesday, July 30, was a very busy day for the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office.
Two Arrested on Various Charges
On Wednesday, July 30, Henderson County Sheriff‘s Office Captain Bryan Tower received a call about two subjects in a white Crown Victoria who had entered a house off of FM 2494 near Athens without the consent of the owner. The two were surprised by contractors present in the residence. Several members of the Sheriff‘s Office attempted to locate the suspect vehicle and subjects. At approximately 2:10pm, HCSO Chief Deputy Dan Parker located a vehicle matching the description at a residence off SH 19 north of Athens.
Surveillance was conducted and the two subjects who had entered the residence off 2494 were observed loading metal cattle gates onto the roof of the Crown Victoria. After leaving the residence on SH 19 southbound, Captain Bryan Tower and Lt. Kendell Wellman initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle. The driver was identified as Ross Walter Chandler (35 of Athens) a passenger was identified as Curtis Jerome Payne (33 of Athens). Chandler was taken into custody for driving without a license and Payne was taken into custody for possession of drug paraphernalia after a pipe used to smoke crack cocaine was found in his pocket. Chandler advised that they had not asked permission to remove the gates and advised that their intention was to “scrap” the metal at a recycling facility using local commercial roll off services. Investigators are attempting to contact the owner of the gates regarding any possible related theft charges. Chandler was released from the Henderson County Jail earlier this month after posting a $20,000 bond on an aggravated robbery indictment. The two were booked into the Henderson County Detention Center and have since been released pending court dates.
One Arrested on Drug Charge
At approximately 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 30, Henderson County Sheriff‘s Office Narcotics Investigators Wick Gabbard, Kay Langford and Deputy Brad Beddingfield were working enforcement near the Forest Grove area of FM 315 South of Chandler. Investigators were in the area in response to complaints of suspected narcotic activity. Investigators detained a vehicle leaving the area after observing a traffic violation. The driver was identified as Maria Mas (51 of Calendar Lake). A search of the vehicle yielded a small quantity of suspected methamphetamine. Mas was arrested and charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1 less than 1 gram which is a state jail and punishable with up to 2 years in a state jail facility. Mas was released on Thursday after posting a $4,500 bond set by Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 Randy Daniel.
Traffic Stop Leads to Charges
At approximately 11:25 p.m. Wednesday, July 30, Deputy Daniel Wright conducted a traffic stop again in the Forest Grove area south of Chandler. The driver failed to immediately yield and drove several minutes before stopping. The driver was identified as David Lee Stringer (46 of Chandler). A search of Stringer’s vehicle revealed yellow pill fragments and a baggie type commonly used in the packaging of narcotics near the driver’s seat. When questioned about the baggie and pills, Stringer admitted to having narcotic pain pills that were not prescribed to him in the baggie and admitted to ingesting them while Deputy Wright was attempting to stop the vehicle. Stringer was taken into custody and booked into the Henderson County Jail for Tampering with Physical Evidence, a 3rd degree felony and driving while license invalid, a class C misdemeanor. Stringer remains in custody with bonds totaling $4,500.
Two Arrested on Theft Charges
Around midnight, HCSO received a call of an alarm at the newly constructed Trinity Valley Electric Substation located off FM 2329 near Eustace. Captain Tower responded to the location and observed an unoccupied vehicle parked on the roadway near the substation with its emergency flashers on. Tower met with TVEC personnel as HCSO Sgt. Rose and Deputies Duggan and Thompson arrived on scene. An area of the fence had been cut and a trailer had been broken into within the fence. Several tools had been removed from the trailer and were stacked up. Officers followed shoe impressions leading away from the cut fence and into the woods north of where the unoccupied vehicle was parked. Two men were located hiding in the woods lying face down in the brush. Bradley Scott Boyd (48 of Eustace) and the registered owner of the unoccupied vehicle, Raymond Troy Baker (45 of Mabank) were found a few yards from the TVEC fence along with gloves, wire cutters and assorted tools. Both were taken into custody and transported to the Henderson County Detention Center charged with Theft of Material, Criminal Trespass, Criminal Mischief and Theft of Property. Bonds totaling $40,000 were placed on each man and they remain in custody.