The Hopkins County Grand Jury during the December 2020 session signed 54 indictments, pushing those cases forward for prosecutions.
Approximately 75 percent of the cases were for controlled substance offenses, and the other 25 percent included stolen vehicle, evading arrest, theft, aggravated robbery, abandoning or endangering a child, money laundering and indecency with a child offenses.
Fourth-seven people are named in the indictments, including eight individuals who are accused of two offenses each. In some cases more than one person was alleged to have participated in an offense.
Christopher Lee Vail, 62, and Ricky Roger Rincon. 60, were both indicted for indecency with a child by sexual contact. Vail was also indicted on an indecency with a child-exposure.
Vail was arrested Sept. 24 on both charges. Sheriff’s investigators contacted the 62-year-old Sulphur Springs man regarding an investigation launched by the sheriff’s office into indecency with a child allegations against him. Due to information gleaned during an interview, arrest warrants were obtained and executed at the sheriff’s office, according to sheriff’s and arrest reports. Vail has remained in Hopkins County jail since Sept. 24 in lieu of a $75,000 bond on the indecency by sexual contact charge and $50,000 bond on the indecency by exposure charge, according to jail reports.
Rincon was arrested Oct. 5. A child reportedly made an outcry of indecency by sexual contact and authorities were contacted. The offense is alleged to have occurred in 2018. A forensic interview was scheduled for the child. An outcry was also made at that time. A warrant was obtained and the 60-year-old Cumby man was arrested, according to Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office investigators. Rincon has remained in Hopkins County jail since his arrest. Bond was set at $50,000 on the indecency with a child by sexual contact charge, according to jail reports.
Janet Eliza Hurley and Gene Harold Thrash were both indicted on an abandoning or endangering a child-criminal negligence charge.
Thrash, 42, has remained in Hopkins County jail since his arrest Sept. 29 on on a warrant for the charge, bond was set at $25,000, according to arrest and jail reports.
Hurley, 46, was jailed Sept. 29 on the charge and released on Sept. 30, 2020 on a $25,000 bond, according to jail reports.
Zackery Austin Hill, 20, and Chanin Ardwon “Chico” Holiness, 18, were both indicted on an aggravated robbery charge. Hill was also indicted during the Dec. 4 session on a theft of a firearm charge.
The pair and another male were reportedly traveling in a vehicle to Arbala early Sept. 24. However, instead of going to the intended destination, Hill and Holiness allegedly stopped the vehicle around 3:20 a.m. on FM 2297. The male with them was then allegedly pistol-whipped across the head and robbed of cash he had with him to make a purchase in Arbala, according to sheriff’s reports released following the pair’s arrest on Sept. 24.
Hill was arrested on the firearm theft charge on Aug. 5 and released from jail on a $5,000 bond on Aug. 10. Hill and Holiness have remained in custody since their arrest on Sept. 24 on the aggravated robbery charge; bond was set at $75,000 each on the charge, according to jail reports.
Dion Mitchell McLendon, 56, of Round Rock and Andrea Bryon Corey Yates, 48, of Austin were both indicted during the December 2020 Hopkins County Grand Jury session on a charge of money laundering, $30,000 or more but less than $150,000.
Sheriff’s deputies reported stopping stopping them for a traffic violation on Interstate 30 west at mile marker 126 late Aug. 19 in a pickup. McLendon and Yates allegedly admitted to having a large amount of cash in the vehicle. A probable cause search after a canine alerted on the truck for narcotics resulted in recovery of approximately $109,000 in United States currency and a two small bags containing a substance that field-tested positive for cocaine, deputies alleged in the August arrest reports.
McLendon, who was noted to be known by the aliases Chad Hester and Deon McClain, and Yates were both booked into Hopkins County jail Aug. 20 and released Aug. 21 on a $25,000 bond on the money laundering charge and a $15,000 bond on the controlled substance charge, according to jail reports.
Fred Castlow Jr. was indicted on an evading arrest or detention in a vehicle charge and an unauthorized use of vehicle charge.
The 24-year-old was arrested early Sept. 22 on the charges after leading the deputy who tried to stop him for a traffic violation in a vehicle pursuit chase that reached speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour on State Highway 19 north into Sulphur Springs, then along Hillcrest Drive. Castlow allegedly turned on Main Street, heading toward Interstate 30 and US Highway 67. He reportedly failed to navigate the sharp corner off the I-30 overpass and crashed the SUV into a tree line south of the connector road. The SUV he was driving had been stolen from Bonham the evening before; he later admitted to stealing the SUV, sheriff’s deputies alleged in September arrest reports.
Castlow has remained in Hopkins County jail since his arrest Sept. 22 on both charges as well as five other warrants. Bond was set at $50,000 on the evading arrest or detention with a vehicle charge and $25,000 on the unauthorized use of a vehicle charge, according to jail reports.
Jonathan Glenn Boughton was indicted in December 2020 for hindering apprehension or prosecution of a known felon.
According to arrest reports, the 39-year-old man answered the doors to Sulphur Springs Police Special Crimes Unit officers and claimed the wanted woman they were attempting to locate was not at home. They found her hiding in a bedroom closet, however, resulting in not only her arrest but in Boughton’s arrest on Sept. 30 on the hindering apprehension charge, the officers note din arrest reports.
Boughton has remained in the county jail since his arrest; bond was set at $10,000 on the hindering apprehension charge, according to jail reports.
Theresa Renee Coburn was indicted for theft of property valued at $2,500 or more but less than $30,000. Coburn has remained in Hopkins County jail since her arrest Oct. 6; bond was set at $5,000 on the felony theft charge, according to jail reports.
Five additional individuals were indicted in December 2020 on two controlled substance charges each:
- Robert Neil Brown
- Possession of 1 gram or more but less than 4 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance
- Possession of less than 1 gram of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance
- Jackson Blaze Gilreath
- Manufacture or delivery of less than 1 gram of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance
- Possession of less than 1 gram of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance
- Amanda Lena Villanueva
- Possession of 4 grams or more but less than 200 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance
- Possession of 4 grams or more but less than 200 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance
- Nicholas Hameed Sadeh
- Possession of 4 grams or more but less than 200 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance
- Possession of 4 grams or more but less than 200 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance
- Roy Lee Wilburn
- Possession of 4 grams or more but less than 200 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance
- Possession of 4 grams or more but less than 200 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance
Keyra Leanne Hargett was indicted on Dec. 4 on a possession of 4 grams or more but less than 200 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance with intent to distribute while Justin Scott Sewell was indicted on a possession of 4 grams or more but less than 200 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance with intent to deliver charge.
Iindicted on one possession of 4 grams or more but less than 200 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance charge each were Brian Scott Molina, Rodney S. Schneider and Ronnie L. Tucker Jr.
Veronica Bryant, Quintin Leon Robinson Jr., Todd Patrick Harrigan and Terryl Lane Webb Jr. were indicted Dec. 4 for possession of 1 gram or more but less than 4 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance.
Among the individuals indicted on a possession of less than 1 gram of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance in a drug-free zone charge were Taylor Nicole Boyett, Valerie Nichole Covington, Melanie Mercedes Edwards, Lacey Nicole Golden, Amy Colleen Liggett and Jonathan Edward Watkins.
Kerry Lee Jones was indicted on a manufacture or delivery of less than 1 gram of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance charge.
CJ Blake Wadlow was indicted for possession of less than 20 AU of a Penalty Group 1-A controlled substance.
The individuals indicted during the December 2020 session on a possession of less than 1 gram of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance included:
- Claston Wayne Bearden
- Staci Lynn Burkham
- Carlotta Fiona Davis
- Miguel Angel Gomez-Gonzalez
- Robert Earl Hawkins Jr.
- Amanda Raedene Heath
- Carissa Ann Jenkins
- Devan Dale Munoz
- Ricky Ervin Neal Jr.
- Jessica Nicole Parker
- Mindy Lynne Robinson
- Larry Dwayne Testerman Jr.
- John Scott Thompson II
- Kenneth Paul Tolly Jr.
