BEAUMONT, Texas — A Beaumont man accused of committing two aggravated robberies on the same day in 2022 was sentenced to life in prison for one of the robberies today.
Derek Jones, 56, was sentenced to life on an aggravated robbery charge in the Criminal District Court for robbing a 7-Eleven store.
He was also accused of committing a robbery at a Family Dollar.
Jones has not yet gone to trial for robbing the Family Dollar, where he is also accused of pistol whipping the clerk working at the time of the incident.
On December 31, 2022 just before 5 a.m., the Beaumont police emergency dispatch center dropped a call of a robbery in-progress at 7-Eleven located at 5590 Calder Avenue.
When officers go there, the suspect left the scene with an undetermined amount of money.
The clerk said that she never saw a weapon, but the suspect pressed something against her back and made threats that placed her in fear of imminent bodily injury or death if she did not comply with his demands.
Surveillance footage was obtained from the incident which showed the suspect to be a heavyset man wearing a Burberry pattern fishing style hat, a red Polo-style shirt and blue jeans.
Just before 8:30 a.m., on that same morning, police responded to a robbery in-progress at Family Dollar located at 2290 Gulf Street.
When police arrived, the suspect was located inside of the store and was arrested shortly after running away from officers.
The suspect was identified as Jones and he was wearing the same exact clothing as shown in the surveillance footage from the earlier robbery at 7-Eleven.
After examining surveillance footage from both stores, it was determined that Jones was the same person involved in both aggravated robberies.
During the Family Dollar incident, Jones robbed the clerk and pistol whipped her with an air soft pistol.
He was forcing the clerk to an area with money when the first officer arrived on scene. Jones ran from the officer and was later apprehended after resisting arrest.
Jones has was convicted of burglary in 1991, which was a felony.
He also was convicted of attempted murder in 1994, which is also a felony. The jury may consider these prior convictions when sentencing begins.
GET NEWS & WEATHER ALERTS | Download the 12News App to your mobile device
CRIME STOPPERS | Submit a tip @ 833Tips.com
CRIME STOPPERS APP | Download the P3 Tips App
From a Beaumont Police Department release:
On Saturday, December 31, 2022 at 8:22 AM, Officers responded to the Family Dollar in the 2200 block of Gulf Street in reference to a disturbance.
Derrick Derane Jones, a 54 year old Beaumont man, robbed the clerk and pistol whipped her with an air soft pistol. He was forcing the clerk to an area with money when the first officer arrived on scene. Jones ran from the officer and was later apprehended after resisting arrest.
Jones was transported to Jefferson County Jail and booked in for Aggravated Robbery- $100,000 bond, Evading Arrest- 5,000 bond, and Resisting Arrest – 5,000 bond.
Jones is a suspect in at least one other Beaumont robbery.
If you have information about a crime you could earn a cash reward of up to $1000 by providing an ANONYMOUS tip to Crime Stoppers of Southeast Texas.
Call 833-TIPS (8477) or download the P3Tips App on your mobile device to submit your tip anonymously.