A Facebook defense of a wanted Vidor woman ended with the defender herself in custody after a Texas sheriff publicly told her to report to his office. The woman was arrested the next morning on a felony parole warrant, according to the Jasper County Sheriff's Office.
The episode began after the department posted about Briana Herring, 29, who was arrested Thursday in Jasper County. Herring, of Vidor, was wanted in Walker County on a credit or debit card abuse charge, a state jail felony, according to Fox San Antonio, citing KFDM.
Trina Castie, 47, of Buna, identified Herring as family and urged commenters to show respect, writing that Herring was a precious person who had endured hardship. Sheriff Chuck Havard answered with a blunt warning: “You have business with this sheriff's office,” followed by a demand that Castie report immediately.
By Friday morning, Deputy Bradley Morgan had been sent to a home on Gandy Road regarding a person wanted on a felony parole warrant. Morgan located Castie, took her into custody and transported her to the Jasper County Jail, the department said.
The sheriff's office did not say Castie's Facebook comment helped deputies locate her or caused the arrest. The timing simply made the online exchange look like a remarkably fast sequel to the original wanted-person post.
Two Warrants, Different Cases
Herring was located along West Recreational Road 255 in Brookeland after Deputy Kaylor received information that a wanted person was in Jasper County. Texas law classifies credit or debit card abuse as a state jail felony in certain circumstances, including when fewer than five card numbers or data items are involved, according to the Texas Penal Code; the sheriff's account did not provide further allegations.
Castie's warrant was not described as a new credit-card case. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles says parole warrants may authorize detention when officials allege a violation of release conditions, a new offense or other supervision problems, with the case potentially moving into an administrative revocation process.
Both women are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. The unusual sequence offered a reminder that a public comment can attract plenty of attention, but it does not erase an outstanding warrant.
