Tyler County News

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By Chris Edwards
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SPURGER – A welfare check last Friday of a man carrying a meat cleaver resulted in an arrest for drug possession.

According to Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford, deputies with the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office were patrolling in the Spurger area at approximately 3:45 p.m. on Friday, March 4, when they stopped to check on the welfare of a man who was on foot.

The man, whom the deputies identified as George Lindsey, a 56-year-old Hillister man, was walking on the shoulder of FM 92 near Mott’s Wholesale/TKC Knives carrying a meat cleaver. Weatherford said the deputies knew the man, and while speaking with him, he admitted to having a small amount of marijuana in his pocket.

The deputies searched Lindsey and discovered not only the marijuana, but a small, clear plastic baggie containing a crystal-like substance, which field-tested positive for methamphetamine.

Lindsey was arrested and taken into custody. He was transported to the Tyler County Justice Center, and charged with possession of a controlled substance, as well as possession of marijuana. His bonds were set at $12,000 by Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace Jim Moore. He is out of jail on bond.

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Stephen GordonBy Chris Edwards
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DAM B – A traffic stop in the Dam B area resulted in an arrest and several charges for a Spurger man.

According to Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford, TCSO deputies were out patrolling the area on the morning of Thursday, Feb. 24, and attempted to stop a green Dodge pickup truck for a traffic violation on FM 92.

Weatherford said that although the deputies activated the emergency lights and sirens in the patrol vehicle, the truck slowed but continued to travel south at a speed of 45 MPH. The driver continued for three more miles, eventually stopping near Harris Grocery in Town Bluff.

When deputies approached the truck, the recognized the driver as Stephen Allen Gordon, a 24-year-old Spurger man. Gordon initially refused to obey the deputies’ request to exit his vehicle, Weatherford said, but ultimately complied.

The deputies discovered a small, clear plastic baggie containing a white, crystalline substance, which field-tested positive for methamphetamine, as well as a loaded .380 caliber pistol near the driver seat.

Gordon was taken into custody on the drug possession and unlawful possession of weapon charge and was also cited for evading arrest and no driver license.

He was booked into the Tyler County Justice Center, and later released on bonds set at $7,500. Weatherford said that he could face additional charges related to some items discovered inside his vehicle, items which had recently been stolen in the Dam B area.

“Investigators will be working closely with Southside Metals in obtaining information for additional warrants/charges on Gordon and other individuals involved in the crimes,” Weatherford said.

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By Chris Edwards
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SPURGER – Two men are in custody after a routine stop revealed drugs, a stolen car and fugitives.

According to Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford, deputies with the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office were out patrolling in the Spurger area last Friday when they stopped a car along FM 92 for a routine traffic violation.

After deputies checked the vehicle’s registration, they discovered it was reported as stolen out of Orange. The driver, identified as 29-year-old Daniel Wilder, of Pearland, was found to have active warrants for his arrest out of both Brazoria and Jefferson counties.

Wilder’s passenger, 30-year-old Hayley Schoonover, also had an active warrant for her arrest, out of Hardin County, and had given the deputies a false name, Weatherford said.

The deputies searched the vehicle and discovered a clear, plastic baggie with a crystalline substance, which field-tested positive for methamphetamine. Weatherford said the Schoonover admitted to the deputies that she was in possession of K2, or synthetic marijuana.

After the two were taken into custody and booked into the Tyler County Justice Center, a review of the patrol unit backseat and video system turned up more contraband, as deputies discovered a white, crystalline substance between the seat and the door of the patrol vehicle, which also field-tested positive for meth.

Weatherford said that, on camera, Schoonover could be seen taking the drugs from her clothing.

Wilder was charged with evading arrest (Brazoria County); resisting arrest (Jefferson County) and possession of a controlled substance. He remains in custody with a $12,000 bond set by Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace Ken Jobe.

Schoonover was charged with possession of controlled substance (Hardin County); possession of a controlled Substance “Meth”; possession of controlled substance (K2); tampering with physical evidence and failure to identify, all Tyler County charges. 

She currently remains in jail with bonds set at $21,000 by Jobe.

Both could face additional charges as investigators work with Orange police in reference to the stolen vehicle, Weatherford said.       

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Lucas BabinBy Chris Edwards
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LUFKIN – The streaming video giant Netflix has launched a suit in federal court against Tyler County District Attorney Lucas Babin.

The suit alleges the company “will suffer irreparable harm” due to an indictment that was handed down last Wednesday in Tyler County’s District Court against the company. Babin dropped an earlier charge filed in 2020 against Netflix for promoting depictions of “the lewd exhibition” of a child, and instead issued four stronger charges of child pornography.

The initial indictment stemmed from the media carrier’s distribution of a controversial French film titled Cuties.

Cuties, which is described as a coming-of-age comedy/drama drew widespread scrutiny due to a marketing campaign from Netflix that allegedly sexualized child actresses. Prior to its release on Netflix, it had not met with such controversy, and in its French iteration (as Mignonnes) won awards at the annual Sundance Film Festival.

It focuses on an 11-year-old Senegalese girl who becomes 3enamored with the behavior of a neighbor girl who dances with an adult-style dance group. Critics noted the contrasting values of religious fundamentalism versus provocative modern cultural trappings.

After its Netflix release, lawmakers such as Senator Ted Cruz and State Rep. James White (R-Hillister) weighed in on the film, and many Americans boycotted the film, and the hashtag “#CancelNetflix” popped up in response.

The suit was filed last Thursday in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas in Lufkin, and is filed as Netflix Inc. v. Babin, 9:22-31.

The suit accuses Babin of filing “baseless charges” against the company and asks the judge overseeing the court to stop Babin from prosecuting the company on four child pornography charges, after Babin dropped the previous charge from 2020.

The suit also refers to Babin’s indictments against the streaming provider as “singular and bad-faith,” and claims the company is exercising its free speech and petition rights under the First Amendment “on trumped-up charges.”

A hearing for Netflix’s request for a temporary restraining order and injunction against Babin and the charges was set for Friday in the Beaumont branch of the federal Eastern District.

At the time of the initial indictment, Babin said that in his role as DA, he sees many cases with underage victims. He said that he’d heard about the film and watched it. After viewing it, he said he knew there was probable cause to believe it was liable to criminal prosecution.

Babin, who worked in the entertainment industry as an actor and model, prior to his career in law, said that the film contains “no serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”

Within the suit, Netflix claims that Babin is “well-aware [the film] violates no laws” and “contains nothing obscene…no ‘lewd depictions of minors’.”

The brunt of the controversy, according to some critics, arises not from the film itself, but how it was marketed via Netflix. According to Hannah Blum, a writer for the Stanford Daily, a poster for the film and the trailer, which featured images of the dance troupe, was from where the concern rose.

In the initial indictments, Netflix co-CEOs Wilmot Reed Hastings, Jr. and Theodore Anthony Sarandos, Jr. are named as “high managerial agent[s].” A statement from a Netflix spokesperson last week called the film “a social commentary against the sexualization of young children,” and called Babin’s four new charges as being “without merit,” and coming “just as Netflix was trying to get the matter tossed out of state court.”

The Dallas-based firm of Carter Arnett PLLC and the San Antonio-based Prichard Young, LLP are representing Netflix.