Man charged with capital murder of League City yacht dealer linked to other high end robberies

LEAGUE CITY, Texas (KTRK) -- A man already charged in one capital murder case is now officially charged in a second case, and it all stems from a string of violent robberies plaguing the Galleria area earlier this year.

League City Police announced that Devan Jordon, 21, is charged with capital murder of 58-year-old Jeffrey Johnson on June 10.

On June 10, Johnson and his wife had dined at the Capital Grille restaurant on Westheimer in the Galleria area. Court records show a white Mercedes SUV waited at the restaurant parking lot and then followed Johnson to his home at 1500 block of Waterside Drive in League City.

When Johnson and his wife arrived at their home, police said the couple was targeted by three robbers, including Jordon. Johnson was shot inside his garage and died the following day.

"He was amazing," said Ricardo Buenahora, who considered Johnson a mentor and a friend.

Johnson owned the Texas Coast Yachts company and Buenahora said he was the guy to learn from.

"Everybody in the company had a chance to see how he was. He was family-oriented, lived for his grandkids," Buenahora said.

Shortly after the shooting, investigators quickly developed Jordon as a possible suspect. He was soon arrested and charged in the capital murder of Joshua Sandoval, who was also followed home and shot. That incident happened along the Washington corridor over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

In Johnson's case, collecting DNA evidence took some time.

Court records show investigators had tracked Jordon through the white Mercedes SUV he was seen driving in the area the night of Johnson's murder. The same SUV had been linked to other crimes around the Galleria area.

"There were numerous individuals involved in this they all had different levels of involvement," said Lt. Michael Buffington with League City police. "Some of them rented the vehicles, let others use them, some of them drivers, and some were actually actors in committing the robberies."

Court records show investigators linked the white Mercedes SUV seen at the site of Johnson's shooting to half a dozen crime scenes. Car rental records show Jordon rented the SUV for several weeks.

Besides the rental car, investigators also relied on cell phone locations. Records show between May and June, Jordon's cell phone location was also linked to robberies and shootings in Midtown, the Sandoval case in the Washington Ave. corridor, River Oaks, Sugar Land, Memorial Villages, and Johnsons case in League City.

In each case, the suspects picked victims who were wearing either expensive jewelry or watches worth tens of thousands of dollars. The victims often also drove high-end, luxury vehicles.

"They (the suspects) were committed from the get-go," said Buffington. "Once they picked a target out, they were committed until they were satisfied."

Additionally, investigators linked Jordon to the murder with DNA evidence recovered from a Styrofoam cup and straw that had been discarded near the crime scene, court records say.