Deputies with the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 40-year-old man in connection with allegations that he and two other suspects tried to cut into an ATM at a Chireno bank and then fled from police.
James Edward Haggerty, of Nacogdoches, is still being held in the Nacogdoches County Jail on a third-degree felony engaging in organized criminal activity charge. No bond amount has been set for his charge yet.
According to the arrest affidavit, an NCSO deputy was dispatched out to the Shelby Savings Bank ATM in Chireno to check out a report of a theft in progress. A witness told authorities that three suspects were cutting into the bank’s ATM.
The witness provided details to the deputies as they were en route to the scene. The suspects fled the scene, and the witness followed them, the affidavit stated.
At one point, the suspects allegedly abandoned the van they had been in and got into a Chrysler 300 that fled east on State Highway 21 toward San Augustine. After San Augustine County authorities were notified, they gave chase, but the vehicle didn’t stop.
The Chrysler 300 continued onto Spur 85 and FM 1277. Eventually, the suspects abandoned the vehicle in the 100 block of County Road 287 and fled on foot, the affidavit stated.
Later, someone gave Haggerty and another suspect a ride to San Augustine, where they were both dropped off on Martin Luther Boulevard.