A woman jogging along Brooks Road near Smith Road in Beaumont on Sunday, August 23, found herself face to face with a driver who twice tried to force her into his vehicle, according to a probable cause affidavit. She got away by kicking his car door shut, jumping a fence, and running into a field, where she hid in nearby bushes until deputies arrived.
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested 40-year-old Shannon Jay Richard, a Beaumont resident, around 8:26 a.m. that morning after the woman's 911 call, according to 12newsnow.com. Per the affidavit, a driver approached the woman in a silver vehicle and began asking her questions while she was running; when she ignored him and tried to continue her jog, he followed her, then told her to get into the car. She refused, and the man returned with a passenger and approached her again before she managed to break away. Richard was charged with criminal attempted kidnapping, resisting arrest, and driving with an invalid license, and his case remains pending, per the same outlet.
Additional reporting from KBMT-TV confirms deputies responded to Brooks Road following the woman's call. The stretch where the encounter unfolded sits in a semi-rural corridor near Interstate 10, an area described in earlier KBMT-TV reporting as a mix of commercial travel centers, rural acreage, and highway access points — the kind of terrain that can leave runners with fewer populated places to turn to if they feel unsafe.
What Attempted Kidnapping Charges Actually Require
Criminal attempted kidnapping is classified as a state jail felony in Texas. Under Texas Penal Code § 12.35 and § 20.03, a conviction carries a mandatory punishment range of 180 days to two years in a state jail facility, along with a fine of up to $10,000, according to legal analysis published by FindLaw. The attempt statute, Texas Penal Code § 15.01, requires prosecutors to prove an act that went beyond mere preparation but still failed to complete the offense — a distinction FindLaw notes separates attempt charges from completed restraint crimes.
Officers And Runners Compare Notes On Staying Safe
The case prompted local police and runners to discuss safety on the road, per 12newsnow.com's reporting. Beaumont Police Department Sgt. Haley Morrow encouraged runners to stay aware of their surroundings and trust their instincts, telling the outlet that people should call 911 as soon as they feel threatened rather than waiting for a situation to escalate. She said an open 911 line can prompt officers to respond even when a caller is unable to speak, and she recommended that anyone who believes they're being followed change directions and head toward a populated location — convenience stores, gas stations, police stations, or fire stations among them. Morrow also said runners should not prioritize politeness over safety when someone makes them feel threatened or uncomfortable.
On headphone use, Morrow recommended wearing only one earbud so one sense stays available to detect danger, and she advised against headphones that completely block out surrounding sound. Tyler Dixson, who founded the Orange Texas Run Club in 2024, echoed that caution, recommending bone-conduction headphones for runners who choose to use them and suggesting people avoid headphones altogether when running alone. Dixson also recommended that solo runners stick to familiar routes and stay aware of their surroundings. “This is the first time I've ever heard of something like this,” Dixson said, per 12newsnow.com's reporting.
Running Clubs Lean On Safety In Numbers
Dixson's club draws about 1,000 different runners overall, with roughly 70 to 100 people participating in its weekly runs, according to the same report. He and Morrow both pointed to the Southeast Texas running community as a source of support and safety in numbers. The Beaumont Police Department also offers free women's self-defense classes, a three-hour program with a 90-minute classroom session on situational awareness followed by hands-on practice in physical escapes, punches, kicks, and breakaways from chokeholds, according to 12newsnow.com's earlier coverage. The classes, taught by female Beaumont police officers, cover recognizing dangerous situations, avoiding them, and responding to attempted physical control or abduction.
A Broader Pattern Behind One Jogger's Ordeal
Research published in the British Journal of Criminology found that 60% of women surveyed among 2,000 female runners had experienced harassment while running outdoors, with 25% reporting explicit verbal or physical sexual harassment, according to the study hosted by Oxford Academic. That research also found safety fears lead many women to alter their routes, schedules, or protective habits. Locally, violent crime in Beaumont fell by about 16% year-over-year during the first ten months of 2025, with 908 violent incidents recorded compared to a higher total the year before, per 12newsnow.com. Even so, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data compiled in August 2026 puts Beaumont's violent crime rate at roughly 7.4 incidents per 1,000 residents annually, above the national average, according to data compiled by DoorProfit.
City leaders have also floated expanding Beaumont's Real-Time Crime Center camera network into municipal parks to close surveillance gaps and help officers track suspects or locate missing people, a proposal reported by KFDM News that would build on camera installations already operating across more than a dozen local parks. The Beaumont Police Department, alongside the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and Port Arthur Police Department, also runs a free 15-week Citizens Police Academy twice a year for residents 18 and older, covering topics from traffic enforcement to SWAT operations, according to the department's own community programs page.
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