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A Thibodaux man was arrested last Thursday and charged with the May 2006 murder of another Thibodaux man.
Joey Folse, 33, was arrested without incident and charged with first-degree murder in the shooing death of Bruce Williams. For his alleged role in the incident, Folse was also charged with armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.
According to Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesman Brennan Matherne, more arrests are expected in the case later this week.
“We can hope this arrest can begin to bring some closure to the Williams family that has been living with unanswered questions for nearly 6 years,” Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said in a printed statement. “The key to solving a cold case investigation is a solid initial investigation, and the Thibodaux Police Department certainly provided that in this case. Over time, new technology was made available to help process evidence, and new witnesses came forward in addition to the original witnesses giving new information. Ultimately, the combination of the new evidence and information combined with information from the original investigation helped build a solid case and lead to Folse’s arrest.”
On May 22, 2006, at approximately 1:30 a.m., Bruce Williams, 41-years old at the time, was shot and killed during an attempted armed robbery near his home on Henderson Street in Thibodaux.
In late 2011, Thibodaux Police Chief Scott Silverii asked the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division for assistance on the case. LPSO Cold Case Investigator John Dillmann was assigned the case in November 2011. After reviewing the case files, Dillmann proceeded to re-interview several witnesses and through investigation, found new witnesses to interview in the case. Dillmann developed the information he received, which implicated Joey Folse in the crime. Because the investigation is continuing, specific details of Folse’s involvement in the crime are not being released at this time, but will likely be released in the future.
Authorities say Dillmann obtained warrants for Folse’s arrest and attempted to have Folse turn himself in. When Folse failed to do so, the LPSO Criminal Investigations Division contacted the U.S. Marshals Service for assistance. Through investigation, detectives learned of Folse’s location, and he was arrested last Thursday in Houma. Folse was apprehended through a coordinated effort involving the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, Thibodaux Police Department, Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office , Houma Police Department and the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force – New Orleans Office.
In all, Folse was arrested on seven active warrants in three separate incidents. In addition to the charges in the case of Williams’ death, Folse was also booked with one additional count each of armed robbery, and conspiracy to commit robbery in an incident which occurred March 11, 2006 on the 100 block of Holly Street in Thibodaux. Additionally, Folse was booked with attempted armed robbery and another count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery in a May 14, 2006 incident which occurred in the 1000 block of Harrison Street in Thibodaux.
Folse is currently being held without bond at the Lafourche Parish Detention Center in Thibodaux. His criminal history includes 24 prior arrests for a variety of charges and 22 prison stays.
