MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas – A former Montgomery County Sheriff's Department sergeant is accused of maliciously vandalizing a suspect's Cadillac, then serving a warrant at the wrong house, Local 2 Investigates has learned.
The veteran deputy was fired last summer. Two other deputies resigned. A fourth patrol deputy was demoted to jailer.
The alleged incident happened April 23, 2014.
Local 2 Investigates obtained photos showing slashed seats, a damaged glove box, and dents on a 2000 Cadillac Escalade.
"They initiated by destroying a vehicle that they thought belonged to my son which, in fact, belonged to me," said Helena Van Orden, mother of the suspect in the initial investigation.
Van Orden has now been contacted by the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and Texas Rangers regarding the deputies' conduct.
A source within Montgomery County government told Local 2 Investigates, the sergeant will be most likely be charged with a crime, perhaps by the end of the month.
But according to several sources, including a neighbor who claims to be an eyewitness, the antics that night continued with a warrant being served at the wrong house.
Instead of targeting Van Orden's house, the deputies accidentally raided the house of a Houston police officer who was not there, confiscated his uniform, stole some of his cigars and smoked them in his front yard.
"Some of them were smoking; it looked like they were trying to figure out what they were going to do next," a neighbor who witnessed the incident said.
A Montgomery County grand jury is expected to review the conduct of at least four deputies within the next few weeks, according to a source close to the investigation.