Zavalla man charged with murder to appear in court

ANGELINA COUNTY, Texas – An East Texas man charged with murder is scheduled to appear in court Monday.

Jeremy Wayne Gladden, 40, of Zavalla, has been charged with murder in connection with the death of Lawrence Jason Wise of Zavalla. Gladden was arrested in Johnson County, Arkansas, after officers found Wise's missing pickup truck and later located Gladden, Angelina County Sheriff Tom Selman said.

Gladden was returned to Angelina County by order of the governor. He is scheduled to make his first appearance in Angelina County District Court on Monday, Selman said.

According to an affidavit, Gladden called the Angelina County Sheriff's Office on Dec. 6 and said he was having an argument with his uncle, Lawrence Jason Wise. Gladden then told officers that he was in the military special forces and that if law enforcement didn't take action against Wise, he would.

Three days later, Gladden called the police again about another disturbance with his uncle. Then on Jan. 23, another person reported in a 911 call that they had found a decomposing body in a shed about 10 miles southeast of Zavalla. The body, which appeared to have decomposed after about three weeks, was then identified as Wise, the affidavit states.

Neighbors reported they also hadn't seen Gladden and Wise in about three weeks, the document said.

An autopsy revealed that Wise was shot in the chest. A search of Gladden's RV revealed a stain on shoes that tested positive for blood, according to the affidavit. Law enforcement also noticed that Gladden had been wearing the same shoes in bodycam footage in previous interactions between officers and Gladden.

While investigating the case, officers learned that Gladden had left town and had family in Arkansas, Selman said. Investigators also discovered that Wise's truck was missing. Johnson County, Arkansas, deputies assisted ACSO deputies in searching for the truck and later Gladden.

The affidavit states that Gladden admitted in an interview to shooting Wise and leaving him in Wise's vehicle.

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