Elkhart Man Arrested on Home Invasion Charge
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – An Elkhart man was arrested on Aug. 28 and charged with a first degree felony after he broke into a residence located north of Grapeland.
Judd Alvin Denson, 56, was charged with the offense of “burglary entry with commission of an assault,” stemming from his actions on Monday, Aug. 27.
According to an affidavit of probable, Houston County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) Deputy William Gardner was dispatched to a residence located at 14976 US Hwy. 287 N. “… involving Judd Denson forcing his was inside (a victim’s) residence.”
When Gardner arrived at the scene, shortly after 7 a.m., he met with the victim who informed him she had a prior incident with Denson involving the HCSO, where Denson had taken property from her.
Eventually, all her property was returned and the victim informed the deputy she had broken off all contact with Denson.
“(The victim) stated that Judd had been continuously sending her text messages and calling her, but she would not respond back or answer the phone when he called,” the affidavit reported.
The apparent obsession took a dark turn on Monday morning with a series of text messages beginning at 5:47 a.m., according to the legal document.
The messages stated:
- “I guess I’m gonna have to come down there and throw another fit. I told you all you got to do is call. It’s not going to be pretty this time.”
- “This time I’m bringing the weight. We kicking in the door. I’m going to do some recovery. You better call the law this time before I get there. You through playing with me.
- “I’m (a) bout to (expletive deleted) somebody up. I don’t care who’s there.”
- “You better talk to me before this (expletive deleted) goes down.”
After showing the deputy the text messages, the victim informed the law enforcement official at approximately 6:15 a.m., she was in the process of waking her children up for school when she heard a loud noise “… as if somebody ran into her house with a vehicle.”
“(The victim) stated after hearing the noise a second time,” according to the probable cause document, “she ran into her bedroom, where the back door to the residence is located and observed Judd Denson swinging a T-post driver into her back door, breaking it open.”
Denson, while still holding the T-post driver, leaned into the room and allegedly told the victim, “Come here now. I don’t want to do this in front of your kids, But I will if I have to,” the affidavit stated.
Fearing for her safety, the victim fled the bedroom, gathered all of her children together and went into another room in the house. Following several minutes, the victim quietly “… returned to her bedroom to find Judd was gone and the T-post driver lying on her bed.”
It was later discovered Denson had taken the victim’s purse which contained cash, credit cards and identifying documents.
Denson was apprehended on Aug. 28 and charged with burglary entry with commission of an assault, a first degree felony.
According to Section 12.32 of the Texas Penal Code, “An individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the first degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the institutional division 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.”
Denson’s bond was set at $30,000. It was posted and he was released pending further legal proceedings.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
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