Smith County Authorities Arrest Third Suspect in Recent Burglaries

TYLER — A Tyler man has been taken into custody for two recent burglaries, making him the third suspect to be arrested in the incidents. On Wednesday, Smith County Sheriffs Office detectives along with the U.S. Marshals Service executed an arrest warrant at the Travelodge motel near the intersection of Highway 69 North and Loop 323. Officials say Devonte Hawkins, 20, is charged with two counts of burglary of a habitation. The warrants were issued by Judge Christi Kennedy, who set bond on each count at $150,000. Hawkins was booked into the Smith County Jail Wednesday afternoon.

On April 24 of this year, Hawkins and two other Tyler men allegedly committed two burglaries of a habitation in northwestern Smith County. The other suspects are Brandon Ervin, 21, and LaSabien Ford, 17. Detectives with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office reported that the first burglary was committed while the homeowner slept. Hawkins, Ervin, and Ford have ties to local street gangs and are linked to several other burglaries where multiple firearms were taken, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.

Ford turned himself in to the Sheriff�s Office on May 23, and Ervin was arrested July 7. Both are currently in the Smith County Jail on two burglary of a habitation warrants, each issued by Judge Kennedy. She also set bond on each count at $150,000 for those two suspects.