SPURGER – An incident in Spurger involving a stolen purse led to the arrests of two suspects on a myriad of charges.
The incident occurred on the evening of Sunday, Dec. 21. According to Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford, some deputies with the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office who were patrolling in the area responded to a call from the Family Dollar store in Spurger concerning a stolen purse.
The deputies, after meeting with the victim, talking to several witnesses and viewing surveillance video footage, were able to identify two suspects as 41-year-old William Louis Conkle, of Silsbee and 48-year-old Jessica Nicole Persons, of Woodville. Conkle, according to Weatherford, was seen in the video as the one taking possession of the purse.
Conkle was found to have two active felony warrants in the county, and from information provided by a citizen, the deputies were able to locate both Conkle and Persons at a residence on County Road 4145.
Both of the suspects were taken into custody. Weatherford said that after the deputies obtained consent to search the residence, they discovered two grams of methamphetamines.
Conkle was arrested on the active warrants and Persons was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and theft. Pct. 1 Justice of the Peace Tina Self set bonds at $87,500 for Conkle and $32,500 on Persons.
One of the warrants stemmed from an incident in November of 2024 when Conkle was arrested in the parking lot of Harris Grocery in Town Bluff, when deputies responded to a report of an intoxicated individual on the premises, and discovered drugs in his vehicle.
