Life marked by violence precedes a violent end
08/25/2005
Life marked by violence precedes a violent end
By JAMIE REID
The Enterprise
MAURICEVILLE - James Thomas Hughes, who died after a shootout Wednesday with Beaumont police, had a history of violent behavior that includes a dishonorable discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps and a felony arrest for firing a gun at his workplace last year.
Hughes, 38, of Beaumont was discharged from the Marines after he beat up a lower-ranked soldier, said his father, 60-year-old Hank Hughes.
Last March, he was arrested by Orange County deputies on an out-of-state warrant for firing a gun at his Lake Charles, La., job site, Hank Hughes said.
Yet friends and family said James Hughes was a nice man who respected law officers.
"I loved him," Hank Hughes said. "He was a good person. I don't know why he did something so stupid - so crazy."
On Wednesday, Hughes, employed at Shooter's Supply in Beaumont, fled from officers who were conducting a random drug search of vehicles traveling on Interstate 10, said Beaumont Police Officer Crystal Holmes. The chase ended at a residential spot, and the wounded Hughes was taken to Beaumont's Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital, where he died.
His vehicle contained a cache of assault weapons, ammunition, military paraphernalia and maps, according to Beaumont and Jefferson County officers at the scene.
It was during Hughes' time in the Marines that he began to collect guns, Hank Hughes said. The weapons police found Wednesday likely were there because his son also traded and sold them.
The maps found in Hughes' car were for planning running routes, Hank Hughes said. Running was a daily passion with James Hughes, who had participated in marathons in New York and Baytown.
At a Bridge City apartment, where he lived from July 2003 to March 2004, Hughes had glass cases filled with guns and bookshelves filled with military history books, apartment manger and owner Wallace Crew said. He also had a collection of military memorabilia, Crew said.
His apartment was spotless - military-style, Crew said. In the bathroom, Hughes arranged his brush, comb, toothpaste and toothbrush in a perfect line on a towel folded in half, Crew said.
"You would be impressed," Crew said.
Hank Hughes was in the U.S. Air Force, so James Hughes grew up traveling, living in places such as Oklahoma, Illinois, Guam and Japan.
Around James' 12th birthday, he lived full-time with his father because his mother was frequently in hospitals for treatment of schizophrenia, Hank Hughes said.
The youngster did well in school and joined the Air Force after graduating from high school, Hank Hughes said. After four years in the Air Force, the younger Hughes left military service for college. He didn't earn a degree, and again entered the military, this time as a Marine who would later face dishonorable discharge.
Former landlord Crew was surprised to hear James Hughes was not already in prison. Crew last saw Hughes in March, when he was arrested by Orange and Bridge City officers.
He was arrested on an out-of-state warrant from Calcasieu Parish, La., for attempted second-degree murder.
Hughes, who was working at a plant in Lake Charles at the time, had an argument with a coworker and took a gun with him to work, his father said.
"Never in 100 years would I expect it (Wednesday's events) to happen," Hank Hughes said. "Something happened. I don't know what happened."
jreid@beaumontenterprise.com
(409) 833-3311, ext. 428
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