Jeremy Wayne Gladden, seen here in both pictures, murdered Lawrence Jason Wise, deputies said. (Images: Johnson County Sheriff’s Office)
After a murder victim was found in a shed, law enforcement say they lured his killer into a trap.
The defendant, Jeremy Wayne Gladden, 40, is being held at the Johnson County jail in Arkansas, awaiting extradition back to Texas on allegations that he took the life of his relative, Lawrence Jason Wise, 55.
The investigation started when the Angelina County Sheriff’s Office in the Lone Star State received a call for a welfare check. Wise was found dead Tuesday in a shed outside a home near the intersection of Hutch Hopson and Hopsonville Roads near the city of Zavalla, around 150 miles northeast of Houston. Both victim and defendant are from Zavalla, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies said that Gladden had taken the victim’s vehicle from the area of the crime scene.
“During the death investigation, deputies found that Wise’s pickup was missing and that preliminary medical examiner findings during the autopsy revealed a possible gunshot wound,” they wrote.
They wanted to speak to Wise’s relative Gladden but discovered he left town, investigators said.
In light of him having family in Arkansas, investigators reached out to their counterparts in Johnson County, Arkansas, to determine if the missing Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck was at a home belonging to a relative of Gladden near Coal Hill.
“The stolen truck was located at a residence on County Road 203, in the Rural Coal Hill area,” the Johnson County deputies wrote.
Authorities obtained search warrants for two properties, and though Gladden was not at either home, they seized the stolen truck, they said.
The search for the suspect continued, and they learned it was hiding out in the city of Coal Hill, Johnson County deputies wrote. Coal Hill is around 115 miles northwest of Little Rock.
“Utilizing an undercover officer, and members of the Patrol and Criminal Investigation Divisions an operation was conducted to lure Gladden out from hiding,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “In the early morning hours of January 26, 2024. Gladden was apprehended by an undercover investigator when Gladden tried to secure a ride to escape the area. After walking up to the undercover investigator and after a short foot chase he was apprehended.”
Angelina County investigators and crime scene technicians drove to the Johnson County sheriff’s office, where investigators interviewed Gladden and processed the truck for evidence, they said.
The investigation is ongoing. Gladden faces a first-degree murder charge in Texas. He is also being held at the Johnson County jail for theft by receiving, fleeing on foot, and resisting arrest. Available records do not name an attorney on his behalf.
