Published: April 11, 2009 08:15 pm      

OC grand jury returns indictments

During this week’s session of the Orange County grand jury jurors returned four indictments against people who allegedly committed sexual abuse crimes against children.

One of the indictments returned for indecency with a child was against James Michael Meadows, 45, of Orange, who is accused of sexually molesting a child. Another Orange man is also accused of sexually molesting a child is 21-year-old Roberto Jaime Garcia, who was indicted for sexual assault.

In addition, Donald Powell, 46, is accused of aggravated sexual assault/indecency of a child for allegedly sexually assaulting a child.

In recent headlines is Jennifer Lea Burton, 39, of Orange. She had six indictments returned against her. They include three cases of sexual assault and three more indictments for improper relationship between educator and student. The indictments cover a period from September through November 2008.

Burton is a teacher/coach at Orangefield Junior High School. The victim was a student of the same school.

Any sexual activity between an adult and a child constitutes child sexual abuse. Sexual abuse may also occur between children. This sexual activity can include such things as obscene phone calls, fondling, exposure, pornography, prostitution or rape. Specific legal definitions may be found in the Texas Penal Code Sections 21.11, 22.011 and 22.021.

A national study conducted in 1990 revealed that approximately 27% of girls or 1 in 4 — and 16% of boys, or 1 in 6 — will be sexually abused before their eighteenth birthday.

According to this same study, 34% of child sexual abuse occurs by age eight. Many experts estimate that in an average class size of thirty children, five to six years old, have been affected by sexual abuse. Unfortunately, children are at an extremely high risk of sexual victimization.

Other crimes against children were also part of the indictments returned.

Indicted was Kimberly Nance Adams, 31, of Vidor, who is accused of leaving several children at home unsupervised. Two of the children were later discovered in the roadway by a neighbor.

In addition, Courtney Rene Griggs, 30, of Orange, is accused of driving while intoxicated with a child passenger. She allegedly operated a motor vehicle while intoxicated while she had a child passenger in the vehicle with her.

Other indictments returned include:

• Bradley Cheyene Gates, 28, Buna, intoxication manslaughter- Gates is accused of being an intoxicated driver and colliding with another vehicle which resulted in the death of a man;

• Michael Lawrence Geral, 22, Orange, aggravated robbery- Geral is accused of robbing a man at knifepoint;

• Tiffany Nicole Britt, 24, Beaumont, failure to stop and render aid- Britt is accused of being involved in a traffic accident and failed to stop and call for aid as required by law;

• Wanda Faye Wykoff, 45, Port Arthur, felony theft- Wykoff is accused of being an employee of a gas station and stealing a large amount of money and never returning to work;

• Cecil Byron Michael, 31, Orange, felony theft- Michael is accused of taking a vehicle for a test-drive and never returning;

• Jason Todd Miller, 34, Vidor, felony theft of service- Miller is accused of passing a worthless check and refusing to make it good;

• Zane Creves Bell, 31, Jackson Miss., felony theft- Bell is accused of passing a counterfeit check at a local banking institution;

• Christopher Dean Bennett, 28, Orange, felony theft (2 cases)- Bennett is accused of having a record of a habitual thief and stealing property on two occasions;

• Rondy Corbin Kindle, 18, Orange, theft from a person- Kindle is accused of snatching a purse from a woman in the parking lot of a woman at a shopping center;

• Jerry Glenn Brown Jr., 38, Huntsville, SC, debit card abuse- Brown is accused of stealing a debit card and using it without the cardholder’s consent;

• Brandy Lynn Felder, 29, Orange, credit/debit card abuse- Felder is accused of stealing a credit card and using it without the cardholder’s consent or knowledge;

• David Paul Schexnider, 24, Orange, credit/debit card abuse and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle- Schexnider is accused of stealing a credit card and a vehicle from an acquaintance;

•Shawn Kevin Gunter, 33, Orange, burglary of a building- Gunter is accused of breaking into a drug store in Orange during the aftermath of Hurricane Ike and stealing a large quantity of drugs;

•Shannon Michell Fenner, 31, Orange, burglary of a building- Fenner is accused of breaking into a drug store in Orange during the aftermath of Hurricane Ike and stealing a large quantity of drugs;

•Jeremy Wade Buesing, 29, Vidor, felony forgery- Buesing is accused of passing several stolen checks in Vidor;

•Terry Allen Tubbs, 21, Sour Lake, felony forgery (2 cases)- Tubbs is accused of passing two counterfeit checks in Vidor;

•John Colt Wimberly, 22, Vinton La., felony evading arrest or detention- Wimberly is accused of using a vehicle to flee from police;

•Ronald Wayne Tuter, 46, Mauriceville, felony driving while intoxicated- Tuter is accused of having at least two prior convictions of driving while intoxicated and being arrested for the same offense;

•Bradley N. Hughes, 47, Carlsbad, NM, felony driving while intoxicated- Hughes is accused of having at least two prior convictions of driving while intoxicated and being arrested for the same offense;

•Matthew John Casanova, 33, McAllen, felony possession of a controlled substance- Casanova is accused of being in possession of cocaine;

•Ester Garza, 30, McAllen, felony possession of a controlled substance- Garza is accused of being in possession of cocaine;

•Demetrius Antwine Harris, 25, Orange, felony possession of a controlled substance- Harris is accused of being in possession of cocaine;

•Adrian Troy Charlot, 30, Orange, felony possession of a controlled substance- Charlot is accused of being in possession of PCP;

•Tyrell Gerome Beasley, 30, Orange, felony possession of a controlled substance- Beasley is accused of being in possession of PCP;

•Isuam Owens, 52, Orange, delivery of a controlled substance- Owens is accused of selling cocaine to an undercover narcotics officer;

•Ashton Angelo Jr., 54, Orange, delivery of a controlled substance- Angelo is accused of selling cocaine to an undercover narcotics officer;

•Howard Patrick Eglin, 26, Orange, delivery of a controlled substance- Eglin is accused of selling cocaine to an undercover narcotics officer;

•Tlandus Caldwell, 20, Orange, felony possession of a controlled substance- Caldwell is accused of being in possession of liquid codeine;

•John Wayne Frank, 26 Orange, felony possession of a marijuana- Frank is accused of being in possession a felony amount of marijuana.



Debby Schamber is a reporter for the Orange Leader. She can be reached at 409-883-3571 ext. 2603 or at dschamber@orangeleader.com.