Crime Stoppers and the families of two men who were murdered in 2021 are rallying together to warn the community about the release of the suspect accused in their deaths, in addition to committing several other crimes across three counties. In total, Devan Kristopher Jordon, 21, has managed to come up with enough cash for collective bonds totaling $1,650,000, causing frustration from those who feel he should not be out on the streets.
Jordon was released Wednesday on a $1,000,000 bond from the Galveston County Jail, charged in the shooting death of Jeffrey Johnson, a yacht company owner. He was charged in several other extremely violent crimes leading up to Johnson’s death, leaving many to question why he was allowed to roam free.
“In all my years of being involved with the criminal justice system, I have never seen a defendant charged with multiple capital murder cases in different counties actually allowed to bond out. Considering that the defendant has a prior criminal history and has repeatedly violated his bond conditions, this defies logic,” said Crime Stoppers Director of Victim Services Andy Kahan. “Needless to say, the victim’s family is beyond irate and frustrated. The public needs to be warned that this defendant is back out in the community and based on his track record, someone will more than likely pay the price.”
At a news conference Thursday, Kahan detailed a timeline, which he feels shows how dangerous Jordon is.
He also explained the severity of the crimes and the bonds that were given to Jordon in each of the offenses.
Kahan said, in December 2019, Jordon was charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in Fort Bend County. He was released after posting a $150,000 bond.
In Harris County, Jordan racked up two felony evading arrest charges in April 2021.
“The notes in the court documents say he is a threat to community safety, but he gets out on bond,” Kahan said.
Over a month goes by and, on May 19, Harris County Pretrial Services sent a bond violation report stating that Jordon never reported and never had his GPS monitor put on. He had a scheduled court appearance on May 27, which he missed, allegedly committing another crime.
“Do you know what happened on May 27, 2021? That’s the day that Joshua Sandoval was murdered,” Kahan said. “The same day he was told to report to court, even though he hasn’t done one condition. He hadn’t even shown up.”
Kahan then went back and broke down the timeline of county records.
In Fort Bend County, Jordon’s bond was revoked in June 2021.
In November 2021, Jordon bonded out for capital murder in the Sandoval case after posting the half-million dollar bond.
“His bond got reinstated in Fort Bend County the same day he posted bond in Harris County,” Kahan explained. “I’m sorry, if you are on bond for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, you’re charged with two felony evading arrests and a capital murder. If that’s not enough, I don’t know what is.”
The following month, in December 2021, Jordon was charged with capital murder in the death of Johnson, who police say Jordon followed to his League City home after having dinner at the Capital Grille near the Galleria area.
Bond in that case was set at $1,000,000.
“We already knew that Devan Jordon posted a $500,000 bond in November, so it was not out of the realm of possibility that he might actually be able to post the bond,” Khan said. “Yeah, it’s kind of unthinkable to the average citizen, but in this day and age, it’s happening more and more.”
Kahan said this was a no-brainer, no bond should have been given.
“When you look at his history that has been ongoing in multiple counties since 2019, I don’t know how you can’t come to the conclusion that he is not a walking, ticking time bomb that’s a threat to everybody within a multi-county jurisdiction,” he said.
Kahan said Jordon has also been implicated in the Galleria organized crime theft ring, and he needs everyone to know that, with Jordan on the streets again, what happened to the Sandoval and Johnson families can happen to anyone.
“There is no way anyone in the public is safe while he is out here,” he said. “What in your right mind, do you really believe that someone is going to show up in court in Harris County and in Galveston County to face a capital murder charge with the potential of actually getting the death penalty or life without parole? Come on.”
KPRC 2 Legal Analyst, Brian Wice spoke exclusively to Jordan’s defense attorney Friday and explored Devan Jordan’s bonds:
Wice explained that the State initially filed a motion to hold Jordon without bond because he allegedly committed the offense of capital murder and the State intended to show that a jury would not only convict Jordon and assess the death penalty, but the State never followed up on this request.
Having reviewed the transcript from the brief hearing held on Jordon’s request that a reasonable bond be set, Wice pointed out that Judge Jason Luong granted the State’s request that Jordon’s bond be set at $500,000. Because Ft. Bend County records reflect that Jordon made bond after he was indicted for the felony of aggravated robbery in December 2019. Wice noted that the State could have, but did not, ask that Jordon be held without bond because he allegedly committed a felony while on bond for a felony.
[Editor’s note: Based on information provided by Jordon’s defense counsel, this article previously stated that the State conceded at the bond hearing that Jordon was not the triggerman in the Harris County capital murder. However, the transcript from the hearing reveals that the State made no such concession. The correct version is reflected in the above copy.]
RELATED: League City man dies after he was shot multiple times in suspected robbery, police say
RELATED: $1M bond for 21-year-old who killed owner of yacht company, League City police say
