MULTI-COUNTY BURGLARY SUSPECTS SENTENCED TO PRISON

  

Three Navasota men have been sentenced in Lee County court to prison time for their role in a series of burglaries around the area.

19-year-old Lucius Bertice Byrd and 29-year-old Gregory Wayne Chatman II were both found guilty by a jury on five counts of Burglary of a Habitation.  26-year-old Desnick Jaquan Chatman was sentenced on three counts of Burglary of a Habitation, two counts of Burglary of a Building, Evading Arrest or Detention with a Vehicle, and Theft of a Firearm.   

All three were sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison.  The sentences will be served concurrently.

The trio was arrested in May 2023 after a property owner reported to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office that his security camera detected three unknown people on his property, located on County Road 127 near FM 180. 

Sheriff’s deputies responded and observed the three attempting to leave on an ATV that was reportedly taken from the property.  When deputies confronted the men, they pointed a weapon back at them, leading to shots fired and the men fleeing the scene in a red passenger car.

After a pursuit, one of the men was apprehended, but two others fled on foot, prompting a manhunt around the area of FM 180 and FM 1697.  The latter two were captured following a search involving Lee and Washington County agencies and DPS. 

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said at the time that several homes around the area had been broken into.  A firearm seized during the arrests was found to have been taken from a Washington County burglary.

Byrd and Gregory Chatman were sentenced to 10 years in prison for their first three charges of Burglary of a Habitation and 2 years in state jail for the remaining two counts.  They were also ordered to pay $5,785 in restitution.

Desnick Chatman was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the three Burglary of a Habitation charges and ordered to pay $5,785 in restitution.  He also was sentenced to 5 years confinement for Evading Arrest or Detention with a Vehicle, 2 years each for the two counts of Burglary of a Building, and 2 years for Theft of a Firearm.