Articles

by Emily Waldrep

A call from a watchful Whitetail Ridge resident after he suspected that his neighbor was being robbed led to the arrest of two 21-year-old thieves on February 9.

According to Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford, Corporal Tony Reynolds was dispatched to private road 6104 in Whitetail ridge at approximately 12:45 p.m. after a caller stated that there was a white female and a white male at the residence next to his.

"The caller knew that the owner of the residence was gone at the moment and saw that a window had been broken out, and he wasn't sure if the two individuals had permission to be on the property," Weatherford said.

While en route, the deputy was advised by dispatch that the two suspects had left the residence in a white Toyota Camry.

The deputy located the vehicle matching the description given approximately three miles west of Woodville.

The vehicle then quickly turned on County Road 1010 off US 190. The deputy made a traffic stop down the county road and made contact with the driver, Tyra Mullins, age 21, of Woodville and the passenger, who identified himself as James Riley.

"At this point, the deputy had Riley exit the vehicle and he noticed a knife hanging out of his pocket, and the subject indicated he had a second knife in his pocket," Weatherford said. "The deputy then performed a weapons pat down on Riley, and during the pat down he noticed that he had multiple items in his right front pants pocket. The deputy received verbal consent to remove the items from Riley's pockets, and he removed a bag containing four white pills which were later identified as hydrocodone, a small clear bag containing a white powdery substance which was later identified as cocaine and a broken pen with tin foil wrapped around it that appeared to be used for smoking marijuana."

According to Weatherford, the officer obtained consent to search the vehicle and found marijuana residue in the ash tray and on the driver and passenger seats. In the rear seat, he found a TV and assorted DVD movies, a hammer and a pry bar.

"Both suspects were put under placed under arrest, and once they arrived at the Tyler County Justice Center, deputies realized that James Riley had given a false name and date of birth, and that his real name is Josh Riley, age 21 of Silsbee," Weatherford said.

Both were booked into the Tyler County jail, and remain in custody.

Josh Riley was booked on charges of possession controlled substance, possession controlled substance, possession drug paraphernalia, burglary of habitation, failure to identify giving false / fictitious information. Tyra Mullins was booked on charges of no operators license, burglary of habitation.