The accused shooter of two former Barry B. Telford Unit guards pleaded not guilty at his first appearance in court this week.
Clyde Allen Stephens, II, of Houston, was arraigned before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell Monday on capital murder charges, unauthorized use of a vehicle and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Stephens is accused of shooting Charles Beckham and Donna Culpepper on June 19 at Beckham’s residence on Private Road 42041 near DeKalb. He is currently jailed at the Bi-State Justice Center jail.
His bond was set totaling $7.3 million dollars.
Stephens is represented by Jeff Harrelson with the Bowie County Public Defender’s Office.
Bowie County District Attorney Jerry Rochelle is prosecuting the case for the state.
Stephens was arrested in White County, Arkansas, four days after the homicides when he was allegedly spotted driving Culpepper’s rented Nissan Sentra near Searcy, Arkansas. He was taken into custody by White County deputies and extradited to Bowie County.
A family member of Culpepper’s arrived on scene to discover her body in the driveway of Beckham’s residence on the evening of June 19 and called authorities, Bowie County Sheriff Jeff Neal said in a June 20 press release. Authorities found Beckham’s body inside his truck nearby. The truck and body had been set on fire in what appeared to be an attempt to destroy evidence, Neal said.
Stephens is alleged to have shot Beckham multiple times when Beckham arrived home from work about 3:30 a.m. and interrupted a burglary. Culpepper was shot several hours later after she arrived at the residence to run planned errands with Beckham.
Stephens allegedly fled the scene in Culpepper’s rented car.
According to the indictments, the district attorney’s office asked for enhanced charges as a habitual offender because of prior convictions.
Stephens pleaded guilty in May 2019 to evading arrest and unauthorized use of a vehicle in Bowie County. He was sentenced to five years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice but was released in February 2021, according to court records.
He was also convicted of a 2008 residential burglary in a Collin County court and a 2015 felony offense of possession of a controlled substance in a Dallas County court, the indictment states.
Clyde Stephens, II
