Three people have been arrested in the kidnapping of local attorney Jim Sharon Bearden. German Borjas-Benitez, 20, Henry Rivera-Antunez, 17, and Erik Pagoada-Bustillo, 17, all from Honduras, have confessed to the crime.
On May 8, Bearden was awakened by two masked intruders at his home off E. Roundbunch near Bridge City. They tied him up while ransacking his home, taking numerous items. They then forced him into his vehicle, and drove him to a bank in Port Arthur where they made him take an undetermined amount of cash out of his account. After he delivered the money they released him and his vehicle and left in another vehicle.
The three are charged with burglary of a habitation, a first degree felony. The 3 were charged with a 1st degree Felony Burglary which carries a higher penalty than Kidnapping. Kidnapping has varying degrees of penalties, depending on the circumstances, but a Burglary where another felony is committed in the process is a definite 1st degree felony.
The Orange County Sheriffs Department was assisted by Port Arthur PD, Jefferson Co. SO, Jefferson County District Attorney’s office, OC District Attorney’s office, Homeland Security, US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Bearden told KOGT, “I only want to say one thing. I want to thank the men and women of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for their hard work, crime solving skills, and collegiality. I will forever be in their debt.”
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