PORT NECHES — A 20-year-old member of the Surenos-13 gang who allegedly led Port Neches Police on a chase into Nederland early Friday morning is facing charges of evading arrest with a motor vehicle and violation of gang injunction.
The suspect, who is a Port Arthur resident, had not been arraigned as of 4 p.m. Friday and his name has not been released. If the suspect is convicted, he will be the third local gang member jailed under the civil gang injunction.
PNPD Capt. Jesse Fournet said police received a call of a possible car burglary in progress after the caller heard car alarms going off in 600 block of East Kitchen shortly after 1 a.m. July 10.
Officer Will Navarre arrived in the area and saw a silver Chrysler 300 leaving the area at an extremely high rate of speed. The officer attempted a traffic stop on the car but the driver fled into nearby Nederland.
“The suspect fled into Nederland at a high rate of speed and jumped out at a home on Avenue A in Nederland,” Fournet said.
A perimeter was set up around the house for the purpose of officer safety and additional officers arrived to assist.
“We ended up making contact with the homeowner and her son, who was the one in the car, came out and was arrested for evading arrest and gang injunction violation,” he said.
PNPD received assistance from Nederland Police Department and Texas Department of Public Safety.
A gang injunction is a loosely a restraining order against a specific group — gangs, and a civil suit which seeks a court order declaring the gang’s behavior a nuisance. A countywide gang injunction was created earlier this year with area-specific conditions. Nine local men believed to be members of gang members were named in the suit. Should they break any of a long list of rules they face jail time and hefty fines.
The suspect in Friday’s incident reportedly broke the curfew part of the violation and possibly more gang related charges will follow as well as felony charges for evading detention with a motor vehicle, Marcelo Molfino, assistant chief criminal investigator in the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office Investigation Division, said.
The gang’s curfew, according to the injunction, is from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
“The District Attorney’s Office will continue to assist our area law enforcement agencies on this gang injunction and crimes related to it,” Molfino said. “The citizens in these communities deserve to live without fear from crime or retaliation from these gang members. And these gang members will cease in their gang activity or have to face the legal consequences.”
Fornet said the incident is still under investigation with more charges pending.
E-mail: mary.meaux@panews.com
Twitter: MaryMeauxPANews