JOHNSON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — A man accused of taking the vehicle of a dead Deep East Texas man and was arrested in Arkansas has been charged with murder.
Jeremy Wayne Gladden, 40, of Zavalla, was charged with murder in connection with the death of Lawrence Jason Wise, of Zavalla, Angelina County Sheriff Tom Selman said in an update Friday night.
Selman said that evidence obtained during the investigation led to murder charges against Gladden.
The charge comes after Gladden was found in Johnson County, Arkansas with Wise's missing pickup truck.
Wise was found dead in a shed outside of a home about 10 miles southeast of Zavalla on Tuesday following a welfare check. Selman said that Wise's vehicle had been taken from the crime scene.
On Friday, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office in Arkansas arrested Gladden, who is related to Wise, as a suspect in connection with the theft of Wise's pickup truck.
Through the death investigation, deputies determined Wise's truck was missing and he had a possible gunshot wound. Information led authorities to Gladden, but he had left town. Investigators learned Gladden had family in Arkansas, Selman said.
Johnson County, Arkansas deputies followed the tip from Angelina County and located Wise's truck. The deputies later found Gladden and arrested him after a brief chase on foot, the sheriff's office said.
Angelina County deputies interviewed Gladden, who made statements about what occurred in the incident, Selman said.