NACOGDOCHES COUNTY, Texas – Three Etoile residents were arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges Monday night after a traffic stop by Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office deputies turned up firearms, a homemade bomb, and illegal drugs.
Brandon Thomas Lightfoot, 28, Misti Michelle Fink, 32, and Melanie Marie Lyman, 38, were pulled over by deputies on patrol near the intersection of FM 226 and CR 560 in Etoile at 10:15 p.m. Monday night for a motor vehicle violation. This location is
near the former Etoile Independent School District campus. When deputies approached the vehicle to speak with the occupants, they could smell the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle and multiple firearms were in plain view.
Deputies and Department of Public Safety State Troopers conducted a probable-cause search of the vehicle and immediately found two rifles and a hand gun. One of the rifles had been reported as stolen. A bag was located in the back seat of the
vehicle that contained marijuana and drug paraphernalia, and the three individuals were taken into custody. Suspected MDMA was also located in the center console.
A further search of the vehicle located a second pistol in a bag. A homemade explosive device was located underneath the driver’s seat of the vehicle. As soon as the device was located, deputies approached a nearby home and advised the residents to go to another location as a precaution. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as the Houston Police
Department’s bomb squad were contacted. Members of the HPD bomb squad responded, and Tyler Fire Department bomb squad inspected and disarmed the device. Lightfoot was booked into the county jail on third-degree felonies for possession of a controlled substance and possession of a prohibited weapon, a state-jail felony for theft of a firearm and a Class-A misdemeanor for unlawful carrying of a weapon. His bonds totaled $30,000. Fink is charged with a third-degree felony for possession of a controlled substance, a state-jail felony for theft of a firearm, and a Class-A misdemeanor for unlawful carrying of a weapon. Her bonds totaled $20,000.
Lyman faces a third-degree felony for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, a third-degree felony for possession of a controlled substance, and a state-jail felony for theft of a firearm. Her bonds totaled $75,000.