The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office assisted Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Marshal’s Office with executing a search warrant in the Mauriceville area on Thursday, Oct. 25, according to a report from Sheriff Bobby Rader.
The suspect, Douglas Joseph Schwartz, 53, was not home at the time the warrant was executed. Inside Schwartz’s home, the task force reportedly found electronic devices that contained child pornography.
“The suspect was called by a neighbor and advised that law enforcement was at his residence,” Rader wrote. “The suspect then turned his cell phone off. The suspect was later found deceased in the Neches River.”
The following day, LCSO assisted the task force with the apprehension of Darrel James Martin, 44. After forced entry into Martin’s residence, the task force members found him hiding inside a clothes dryer that was closed and full of clothes.
He was arrested for felony theft, evading with a previous conviction, and a parole warrant.