HCSO Makes Arrest in 2015 Robbery
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
HOUSTON COUNTY – A Conroe man was apprehended by officers with the Conroe Police Department and returned to Houston County after it was discovered he had warrants out for his arrest in a 2015 aggravated robbery near the Ratcliff area.
Stephen Paul Jandes, 43, was booked into the Houston County Jail on Tuesday, May 16 after he was arrested on Wednesday, May 10 by Conroe police officers on warrants for an unrelated incident.
At the time of his initial arrest, the police verified and checked identifying information provided by Jandes and discovered he was wanted in Houston County on charges of aggravated robbery and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Jandes was held in the Montgomery County Jail until he was transported back to Houston County, where he was booked into custody on the aforementioned charges.
Jandes was charged for his alleged involvement in an incident which occurred on Jan. 7, 2015. According to an affidavit of probable cause filed on Jan. 9, 2015, Jandes asked the robbery victim, a 72-year-old male, for a ride home from GodTel Ministries in Lufkin, where they both worked.
In the 2015 affidavit, the victim described Jandes as a friend and added they had worked together for approximately one year.
The victim stated Jandes had stolen his wallet, containing cash and credit cards, after Jandes lured him to a remote area of the Davy Crockett National Forest “… on the pretense that Jandes was going to pay him back a small loan amount and that this location was supposed to Jandes’s residence,” the affidavit indicated.
The location, as described in the legal narrative, was “… a gated entrance in the remote area of Davy Crockett National Forest. No residence was reported nearby. It was reported (the victim) was lured out of the truck to open the gate and once outside the vehicle, the defendant (Jandes) grabbed the wallet out of the victim’s rear pocket, then ran to the driver’s side and jumped in the victim’s vehicle.”
The affidavit went on to state after Jandes stole his vehicle he “… drove back by multiple times in what (the victim) believed was an attempt to run him over.”
After the victim was located by Houston Count Sheriff’s Office deputies using a 911 locator system, the victim’s truck was recovered in Lufkin.
“The HCSO investigation revealed that (the victim) and Jandes were seen together at GodTel Ministries in the morning hours prior to this incident. Further investigation revealed that video surveillance cameras captured video of Stephen Paul Jandes driving the victim’s vehicle on Jan. 7, 2015, prior to it being recovered,” the affidavit reported.
Aggravated robbery is a considered as a first degree felony and 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.”
Jandes is being held at the Houston County Jail and has been “no-bonded.”
Will Johnson may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
