PRESS RELEASE — On April 11, 2018 at 10:24am, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office received calls of a vehicle that drove off into the water on FM 365 near Hillebrandt Bayou. A white male driver exited the vehicle and ran across a field.

Deputies were dispatched to the area to look for the driver and recover the vehicle. Deputies searched the area while the vehicle was being pulled from the water. Once the vehicle was pulled out of the water, a check of the license plate indicated that it was stolen from a robbery earlier that morning in Bridge City. Bridge City Police advised that the suspect in the robbery was believed to be armed and dangerous. Deputies used the Sheriff’s helicopter and a K-9 from Port Arthur Police Department to search for the suspect. An emergency notification was sent out to residences in the area through the STAN system to advise them of the situation, and residence were asked to call in any suspicious persons or activity.

Deputies suspended the search after almost three hours. Deputies remained in the area incase residences called in any suspicious persons.
At 2:22pm later, that afternoon a deputy that was in the area spotted an individual walking the levee where the vehicle went into the water. Additional units arrived, setup a perimeter, and were able to take him into custody with out incident.

The suspect was transported to the Jefferson County Correctional Facility where he was booked in on outstanding Justice of the Peace warrant out of Orange County. Additional charges are expected to be filed.

His name and photograph is not being released at this time due to ongoing investigation with the Bridge City Police Department.

If you are a resident in the area where the search took place and did not receive an alert message, go to www.thestan.com or call 1-844-843-7826 to register for future notifications.