FORNEY, Texas — Three more people have been arrested in connection with a June 2015 home invasion in Forney in which the homeowner was bound and brutally beaten.
FORNEY, Texas — Three more people have been arrested in connection with a June 2015 home invasion in Forney in which the homeowner was bound and brutally beaten.
Police say the incident wasn’t a random act of violence, instead, five individuals planned a coordinated robbery scheme that saw law enforcement assistance from several surrounding agencies to close the book on a nearly year-long investigation.
One of the five suspects charged in the case is a former co-worker of the victim.
On June 3, 2015, three suspects drove to a home in the 400 block of Redbud Drive in Forney, Texas. One of the suspects posed as a sales agent while another awaited nearby to force entry into the home once the door was open, according to police.
Upon gaining entry, the two men bound and brutally beat the homeowner before robbing him.
Meanwhile, outside, police had received a call about a suspicious vehicle on Redbud. Unaware of the ongoing home invasion, officers conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle, observed a weapon inside the vehicle, and detained the driver.
During the traffic stop, officers observed one of the suspects exit the victim’s home with a duffel bag and, upon seeing the officers, ran back inside the home, according to a press release at the time of the initial incident.
The officers approached the house and knocked on the door and heard someone inside calling for help. The officers entered the home and found the resident tied up on the floor, according to the release. Two suspects inside the house fled out the back door.
Officers with the Forney Police Department and the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office arrested the two fleeing suspects in the Chicken Express parking lot on Pinson Road — less than a mile from the residence.
The two fleeing suspects were identified as 22-year-old Larry Eugene Ranson III of Dallas, Texas, and 32-year-old Darius Franchot Madden, Jr., of Mesquite, Texas. The driver was identified as Ray Emmitt Madden of Forney, Texas.
Forney Police Department Sergeant Prewitt said, through initial investigation and interviews, determined the home invasion was a coordinated attack and began issuing search warrants which included cell phone and computer records, and a social media investigation.
On March 24, 2016, police made their first major break in the case in nearly a year when they arrested 39-year-old Joe Frank Vargas of Mesquite, Texas. Five days later, on March 29, 2016, police arrested 57-year-old Steven Simmons of Mesquite, Texas, who police say was a former co-worker of the victim.
Last Friday, police arrested 39-year-old Allen Damon Sanders of Mesquite, Texas, who was living in Forney at the time of his arrest.
“This was a great joint effort from everyone from our department and assistance from other surrounding agencies to bring these guys to justice,” Prewitt told inForney.com. “I greatly appreciated their assistance in this case.”
Each was charged with burglary of a habitation intend other felony and engaging in organized criminal activity, both first-degree felonies.
Sanders and Vargas are each being held on bonds totaling $100,000 and $150,000 on the charges, respectively. Ranson is being held on bonds of $200,000 and $100,000, respectively. Simmons is being held on bonds of $300,000 on each charge and Darius Madden is being held on bonds of $1 million on each charge. Charges against Ray Madden have since been dropped.
Darius Madden has previous convictions for aggravated robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon in Dallas County. Ranson and Sanders have previous convictions for possession of marijuana in Denton County. Simmons has previous convictions stemming back to 1982 for burglary of a vehicle, theft, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of dangerous drugs, evading arrest, burglary of a habitation, burglary of a building, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and assault causes bodily injury in Dallas County.