Backpack, Keys Stolen During Fishing Trip

By Cody Thompson

Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT – A man, wanted on the charge of stealing a backpack out of the back of a pickup truck in February, was arrested by the Houston County Sheriff’s Office on March 23.

Jimmy Levelt Johnson, of Groveton, was charged with burglary of a vehicle.

HCSO deputy Adam Siminson was dispatched to the Lock and Dam, located off Houston County Lake, in reference to a report about a  backpack that was out of a vehicle on February 16, an affidavit of probable cause said.

“I (Siminson) arrived on (the) scene and spoke with the victim who stated that he and his mother were fishing and had been all day,” the affidavit said.

The victim and his mother were approached throughout the day by an older, thin, black male wearing a blue shirt with cut-off sleeves, the report stated.

“He stated that the black male was asking him (the victim) random questions and seemed a little odd,” the affidavit said.

After a while, the victim decided to leave and walked back to his truck to put his fish in a cooler located in the bed of the truck. The victim then laid his backpack, which contained the keys to the truck, on the cooler and returned to help his mother, the report said.

“I asked him to describe the backpack,” the probable cause document said, “and he stated that it was and old and beat up black backpack with a green stripe on it.”

When the victim and his mother returned to the vehicle he immediately noticed that the backpack, with the keys to his truck, was gone, leaving the victim and his mother stranded because they both live outside of Houston County, the affidavit said.

Siminson later received a call from HCSO deputy William Gardner for information about the case, the affidavit said.

“I (Siminson) informed him of the details and the description of the suspect that was given to me (by the victim,” the report said. “(Gardner) stated that the (victim) had called and stated the suspect was at the Lock and Dam and wanted a deputy to speak with him.”

Gardner went to the scene and identified the suspect as Johnson, along with his nephew, the affidavit said.

“(Gardner) stated that the (nephew), who was with (Johnson) at the time of the subsequent investigation, stated that (Johnson) had given him the backpack, the backpack in question,” the affidavit said. “The backpack did not have the keys that belonged to (the victim) inside.”

Due to the statements of the victim and the nephew who was found to be in possession of the backpack, a warrant was issued for Johnson and he was found and arrested on March 23.

The charge of burglary of a vehicle is considered a class A misdemeanor.

According to Section 12.21 of the Texas Penal Code,“An individual adjudged guilty of a Class A misdemeanor shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $4,000;confinement in jail for a term not to exceed one year; or both such fine and confinement.”

Cody Thompson may be reached via e-mail at [email protected]

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