1 in 11 jail inmates charged with murder, others free on bond
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Normand
More than three months after the relative of a local lawyer was arrested for murder – and released on a bond lowered to just $100,000 – Jaye Vincent Normand was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury on Nov. 8
In an atypical move, Normand testified before the grand jury during the indictment hearing; and, despite his appearance before the panel in a tailored suit and tie, Normand was unable to overcome the probable cause charging instrument that unequivocally alleged murder.
As spelled out in black and white, and signed by veteran homicide detective Sgt. Jesus Tamayo of the Beaumont Police Department, video surveillance at the scene of the murder left no doubt that Normand was the assailant.
“The defendant, later identified as Jaye Vincent Normand, is seen shooting the victim, then leaving the scene in a black colored SUV-type vehicle,” Tamayo said of what he saw on the video. “Defendant Normand soon returned to the scene and he made a … statement to responding officers that he (Normand) had shot the victim.”
Witnesses at the scene of the crime on July 29 stated that Normand indicated he needed to leave Corry Demarcus Beckett shot and dying on the pavement of the gas station without first aid because he had to bring snacks home to his children. Normand, who reported an address within a block of the scene of the murder, the Shell station on Highway 105 near Major Drive in Beaumont, returned to the convenience store after Beaumont police had arrived and Beckett was declared deceased.
Still out on bond with a down payment of roughly $10,000 to Allied Bail Bonds, Normand is now added to the more than 60 alleged murderers still awaiting transport to prison or trial in the Jefferson County Jail alone. As of Oct. 19, 61 inmates in the custody of the Jefferson County Jail were charged with murder, representing nearly 1 in 11 inmates housed at the local lock-up. The number is down from a height of roughly 80, Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens said, which accounted for approximately 10% of the inmate population.
Such a large number of alleged murderers in one place, Stephens said, has posed some security challenges, especially among the younger suspects, many that claim rivals in the jail dorms; jailers are urged to remain ever vigilant while on duty for potential conflict and violence.
Surrounding counties, Orange and Hardin, report less than a dozen murder cases combined that are still in limbo in their county jails, and only a single murder suspect released on bond.
According to records of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Karl Stanbrough, charged with murder for the 2018 shooting death of 47-year-old Jason McLain, of Vidor, was released two days after his February 2023 arrest on bond set at $100,000.
Normand’s bond, as for most murder suspects in Jefferson County, was initially set at $1 million by Justice of the Peace Ben Collins. According to the judge, the bond was lowered after the elected official received a letter from the murder suspect’s attorney, asking for a bond reduction.
The Examiner, after some back and forth with staff from Collins’ office, acquired the letter requesting Normand’s bond reduction.
In an email sent Sunday, July 30, attorney Wendell C. Radford Jr. urged the judge to reconsider the stiff bail, in part, since Normand “comes from a respected family in the community,” that of Radford’s co-counsel and local political philanthropist Marsha Normand.
Radford reminded Judge Collins that “Numerous individuals charged with murder … are out on bonds of $100,000,” and he and Marsha Normand represent another alleged murderer free on a bond of $100,000 – Jaylen Lott, of Port Arthur. At the time of Radford’s letter, Lott had already pleaded guilty to the 2020 murder of Joel Lopez Martinez, of Port Arthur, committed during an armed robbery. Soon after Radford’s letter, Lott, represented in front of Judge John Stevens’ Criminal District Court by Marsha Normand, was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison for the murder he admitted to participating in.
Collins approved the requested bond reduction for Normand the day after the memo was sent. Monday morning, Radford’s letter in hand, Collins returned to the murder warrant that had already been executed and entered during magistrate court by Judge Baylor Wortham, and lowered the approved bond. In a notice from Collins to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the justice of the peace judge ordered the murder bond be reduced from $1 million to $100,000. Normand was released from custody the same day.
Bond bravado
During the pursuit of leniency for an admitted murderer, Radford wrote that Normand, “indicates that he has no criminal convictions, and is married with children.”
Radford took no ownership of the suspect’s assertion, and was careful not to mention that, although Normand was not convicted of the crime, the accused murderer was arrested in Houston in 2017 for “unlawful carrying a weapon.” Normand was required to serve community supervision for the Class A misdemeanor but completed the required penalty on a “deferred” status so no criminal history remains on Normand’s permanent record.
Defense attorney Radford, a former district attorney for Jefferson County for over a decade until he was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2006, has more of a criminal record than his client. Radford, indicted on 10 counts of offenses that included money laundering, mail fraud and wire fraud, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in 2007, and was sentenced to serve 10 months of confinement – five months in prison, and five months on house arrest – followed by two years of community supervision. As a result of his criminal conviction, Radford was subjected to disbarment in 2008.
Signed the 26 day of August 2008, the chair of the Board of Disciplinary Appeals entered a judgment that Radford’s law license be revoked based on the conclusions of law that Radford was finally convicted of crimes defined under statute as “intentional” and “serious.”
Radford, the board affirmed, “although duly cited to appear and having been notified of the hearing, failed to answer or appear and wholly made default.”
Not that a criminal record would keep Radford from courtroom performance for long. Pursuant to the rules of the State Bar of Texas: “After five years, a disbarred lawyer may petition a district court to be reinstated to the practice of law. The disbarred lawyer must prove that reinstatement is in the best interest of the public and the profession, as well as the ends of justice.”
Now back on the beat with a new law license, Radford works hard – even on the weekend for the family of friends. Stumping for a man caught on camera killing a man at a gas station, Radford dug deep for reasons why a murder bond should be low. Still, in contrast to Radford’s assertion that “numerous” murder bonds are set at $100,000, of the alleged 61 murderers still in the Jefferson County Jail at the end of October, just one had a reported bond of $100,000 – and that inmate was also subjected to a mental health hold to prevent discharge from custody.
A list of persons on bond for murder was not provided as of press time.
Jefferson County Jail (as of Oct. 19)
Ahmad Acrond, in custody since March 2022 – $1 million bond
Gregory Ager, in custody since June 2021 – $1.25 million bond
Stephen Angelle, in custody since December 2021 –$650,000 bond
Channin Ardoin, in custody since October 2022 – $1 million bond
Ronald Babino, in custody since March 2022 – $500,000 bond
Keshawn Barlow, in custody since June – no listed bond
Jaron Battles, in custody since March – no listed bond
Terry Booker, in jail since September – no listed bond
Mark Brantley, in custody since June 2020 – no listed bond
Isaiah Brewer, in custody since May 2022 – $500,000 bond
Brien Cassimere, in custody since December 2022 – $750,000 bond
Brandon Charles, in custody since July – no listed bond
Lace Christian, in custody since July 2022 – no listed bond
Joseph Colone, back in the county lockup for a new capital murder trial since October 2022 – $750,000 bond
John Cook, in custody since April 2019 – $500,000 bond
Jeremy Dixon, in custody since August – no listed bond
Jordan Edmondson, in custody since September – no listed bond
Dariote Everfield, in custody since April 2022 – $500,000 bond
Kamron Fennell, in custody since April 2021 – $750,000 bond
Clayton Foreman, brought back to Texas in 2021 for a capital murder in May 2021 – no listed bond
Joseph Freeman, in custody since November 2022 – no listed bond
Kentrell Gabriel, in custody since July – no listed bond
Jamirious Gardner, in custody since November 2019 – no listed bond
Marcarius Gerard, in custody since June 2021 – $1.5 million
Jacorry Green, in custody since July 2021 – $1 million bond
Florencio Guillen, in custody since February – no listed bond
Elijah Guillory, in custody since September 2022 – $1 million bond
Fredrick Harden, in custody since June 2021 – awaiting transport to prison, previously held on $1 million bond
Kalin Hicks, in custody since Match – no listed bond
Dijon Ivory, in custody since April for murder and capital murder by terror threat – $1 million bond each
Naomi Johnson, in custody since July 2020 – $1 million bond
Rickey Johnson, in custody since September 2021 – $1 million bond
Zachary Kapel, in custody since April 2020 – no listed bond
Max Keith, in custody since October 2022 – $450,000 bond
Dastacy Lawrence, in custody since April 2022 – $500,000 bond
Janesya, in custody since June – no listed bond
Jose Lopez, in custody since November 2022 – $950,000 bond
Armando Martinez, in custody since September – no listed bond
Joseph Matthews, in custody since December 2020 – $1 million bond
Jamal McCain, in custody since June – no listed bond
Algerreau McQueen (17-years-old), in custody since May 2022 – $927,000 bond
Jonathan Menard, in custody since February 2021 – $1 million bond
Christopher Mitchell, in custody since October 2020 – $1 million bond
Charles Moss, in custody since February 2022 – $675,000 bond
Taji Myers, in custody since May – $1 million bond
Jovan Neveaux, in custody since March – no listed bond
Kendrain Perkins, in custody since February 2022 – $1 million bond
Darryl Prevost, in custody since April 2022 – $800,000 bond
Jermaine Reeder, in custody since April 2022 – $500,000 bond
Tracy Samuel, in custody since the beginning of October – no listed bond
Chelsea Shipp, in custody since March 2022 – $1 million
Augusta Simon Jr., in custody since September – no listed bond
Arthur Small Jr., in custody since February 2022 – $675,000 bond
Derrius Stevenson, in custody since July 2021 – awaiting transport
Leonard Thompson, in custody since September – no listed bond
Brittany Tims, in custody since August 2021 – $100,000 bond plus a mental health hold
Charles Verdine, in custody since March 2022 – $1 million bond
Armani Wallace, in custody since April – no listed bond
Paul Westbrooks, in custody since April for murder and capital murder by terror threat – $850,000 bond
Deon Williams, in custody since August 2021 – $750,000 bond
Jirou Zachere Jr., in custody since August – no listed bond
Orange County Jail (as of Nov. 10)
Arthur A Blackmon Jr, in custody since July 2023 - $2 million bond
Shontasia Dia’nay Garrett, in custody since April 2023 - $355,000 bond
Russell James Kinney, in custody since March 2023 - $1 million bond
Aaron Wilson McClelland, in custody since August 2022 - $586,000 bond
Marquest Watson, in custody since February 2022 - $1,001,500 bond