Bonds for 19-year-old Elizabeth “Lizzy” Gail Coleman of Jefferson and 24-year-old William Tyler Vick of Linden, the pair found Tuesday morning during a traffic stop to be in possession of stolen firearms and a controlled substance, were set at $50,000 per charge for each on two theft of firearm and one controlled substance charge. The firearms and bottles of prescription medication reported stolen Saturday night from a Cass County residence, methamphetamine and marijuana were among the items found in the vehicle the pair was driving, according to arrest reports.
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Justin Wilkerson reported stopping a vehicle being driven in east in the westbound lane on the south Interstate 30 service road in the area of mile markers 131-132 at 12 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022. Vick was reported to be driving and Coleman was a passenger in the vehicle. He had Vick step out and talk to him. A records check, Wilkerson reported, showed Vick was being deceptive about his criminal history; the 24-year-old is a convicted felon.
When Wilkerson walked back to the vehicle to give Coleman her ID back, he detected a marijuana odor emitting from the inside the auto. When he asked Vick about the odor, the Linden man allegedly admitted he had smoked marijuana in the vehicle. The deputy then had Coleman exit the vehicle. Vick at that point allegedly admitted there was a firearm in the vehicle. Because Vick is prohibited from having a firearm as a convicted felon, Wilkerson placed Vick into handcuffs while he searched the vehicle.
Wilkerson reported finding burnt marijuana cigarettes and a revolver in the center cupholder, and suspected marijuana, and a clear container and a baggy with a crystal-like substance suspected to be methamphetamine elsewhere in the vehicle. Vick and Coleman were placed into custody at 12:21 a.m. Sept. 20, 2022.
HCSO Sgt. Scott Davis and Deputy Joshua Davis arrived at that time to assist Wilkerson. Their perusal of the vehicle revealed a number of items, including a large amount of medicine bottles —most of which were prescribed to a Hughes Springs resident, not Vick or Coleman — as well as two revolver pistols thought to be stolen.
Deputies contacted the sheriff’s office in Cass County, within which Hughes Springs is located. They were told the resident named on the medications had numerous items stolen from her residence two days before during a burglary. HCSO deputies contacted the woman who’d reported her property taken during the Hughes Springs burglary and had her travel to Sulphur Springs to meet with officers regarding the property. The Hughes Springs woman identified two of the three pistols as well as a number of other items as being among those taken from her residence Saturday. After photographing the property ID as belonging to the Hughes Springs woman, her property was released to her.
The rest of the evidence seized during search was seized from the vehicle. The crystal-like substance field tested positive for methamphetamine and weighed 0.44 gram, including packaging.
Vick and Coleman were booked into HCSO jail Tuesday morning on two theft of firearm charges and one possession of less than 1 gram of a Penalty Group 1/1-B controlled substance charge each; Vick was also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon (UPFF), due to a 2017 felony conviction and his arrest in May 2022 for UPFF; his bonds totaled $200,000 — $50,000 per charge, according to jail reports.
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The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office is located at 298 Rosemont Sulphur Springs, TX 75482. You can reach them for non-emergency matters at (903) 438-4040.
