Third Kidnapping Suspect Apprehended

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

HOUSTON COUNTY – The third suspect involved in a November kidnapping in Houston County was arrested three days after his two accomplices were taken into custody.

Perry Joe Holmes, a 36-year-old Houston County resident, was apprehended on Tuesday, Dec. 6 and charged with one count of aggravated kidnapping after he and two accomplices allegedly abducted a male subject from a travel trailer and threatened to kill him.

Prior to the Tuesday arrest of Holmes, Lazarus Abesol Crockett, 25, and Charity Dawn Cecil, 18, were arrested and charged with the same late November offense.

Deputies with the Houston County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) were dispatched to 321 County Road 4530 on Nov. 30 “… in reference to a kidnapping that occurred approximately one week prior,” according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Once the deputies arrived at the location, they were met by the complainant who informed the law enforcement officials Holmes and Crockett had entered a travel trailer while he was sleeping, shined a flashlight in his face and ordered him to get on the floor.

“(The complainant) said that he complied and Holmes and Crockett tied him up and carried him into the woods behind the trailer,” according to the affidavit.

The probable cause document indicated Cecil was Crockett’s girlfriend and held the flashlight for Crockett and Holmes while they carried the complainant into the wooded area.

According to the report, “The complainant said that Holmes then told him that they were going to get a knife and cut him up so that nobody would find him.”

The trio departed the area and left the complainant tied up, but returned approximately 30 minutes later and untied him, according to the affidavit.

Once they had untied him, the complainant stated the three suspects began laughing and “… and acting as if they were joking, but believed (the complainant) to be a snitch and that if he ever did it again, they would kill him.”

In the affidavit, the complainant told the HCSO deputies he believed the reason he was kidnapped was because he had informed the owner of the land where the travel trailer was located that two of the suspects had possibly left a stolen vehicle on the same acreage. After he received the information, the landowner called Holmes and confronted him about the vehicle.

Following his apprehension, Holmes was booked into the Houston County Jail and charged with one count of aggravated kidnapping, a first degree felony.

According to Section 12.31 of the Texas Penal Code, “An individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the first degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than five years. In addition to imprisonment, an individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the first degree may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000.”

As of press time, Holmes remains in the Houston County Jail. His total bond has been set at $30,000.

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].

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