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Eustace grad dies in wreck
Monitor Staff Reports
PAYNE SPRINGS–A recent Eustace High School graduate lost his life early
last Friday morning when he swerved off the road and hit a tree.
John “Judo” Phillip Taylor, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene of the
6:30 a.m. wreck on Double Bridge Road by Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace
Dale Blaylock.
Passenger Andrew Whidden, also 18, of Eustace, was care-flighted to East
Texas Medical Center, where he was last reported to be in critical
condition.
Two other passengers, James Lashley, 21, and Robert Cardenas, 18, were
reported uninjured.
DPS Trooper Joe Gomez reported Taylor was driving a 2000 Honda Odyssey
van eastbound on Double Bridge Road, having just left a friend’s house.
“When I arrived on the scene, I saw that the van was damaged really bad
and the driver (Taylor) pinned inside,” Gomez said.
Payne Springs Fire Department and EMS also responded to the scene.
The cause of the wreck is under investigation.
Officers seize 569 lbs. of coke
Authorities say drugs worth $20 million
Monitor Staff Reports
KAUFMAN COUNTY–The largest drug bust in Kaufman County occurred Aug. 10,
according to a press release issued late Tuesday afternoon by the
Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office.
In a joint effort, the Texas Department of Public Safety, Drug
Enforcement Agency, and Sheriff’s Office seized 569 pounds of cocaine.
The estimated street value of the seizure is $20 million.
The Kaufman County Law Enforcement Center is holding four Hispanic men
on charges of possession of a controlled substance greater than 400
grams.
The arrests reportedly took place in “the 5300 block of East Highway
(U.S.) 175,” a point somewhere between Kemp and Kaufman, near 7 p.m.
Aug. 10.
By presstime late Tuesday, no one at the Sheriff’s Office would relate
the circumstances surrounding the seizure and arrests, or whether those
arrested were illegal immigrants or not.
The four men were identified as Carlos Gurrusquieta, Jorge Santoyo,
Diego Santoyo and Heriberto Rios.
At presstime, all four men were still jailed under $500,000 bond each.
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