CRIME BLOTTER: Reported offenses in the Tri-parish area

St. Mary makes drug arrest

A 43-year-old Ricohoc woman is in custody after St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies located drugs in her possession.

Michelle Ashley, 43, of 121 Calumet Cut Lane, Ricohoc, was arrested on June 7 for possession with the intent to distribute Schedule III narcotics (Lortab).

Ashley was taken into custody after St. Mary Parish Narcotics Division authorities located her near Ricohoc Drive.

Through investigation, detectives learned that Ashley was in possession of Lortab and she planned to distribute the pills.

Ashley has been taken to the parish jail on the above charges.

No bond has been set.

 

Golden Meadow man charged with hate crimes

A Golden Meadow man is charged with hate crimes after Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said he punched another man in the face several times.

Last Wednesday night, LPSO deputies responded to West 137th Street in Galliano where they were called to a complaint of violence.

Once on the scene, deputies were informed that Chad Michael Lee, 27, of 136 West 205th St., Golden Meadow, had punched a man in the face several times before leaving the scene, LPSO spokesman Brennan Matherne said.

Matherne said Lee then returned a short time later and kicked in a door, entered the residence and began punching the victim again. Matherne said he used several ethnic slurs while hitting the man.

Deputies on the scene arrested Lee and placed him in the back of a patrol unit.

While in the backseat, he twice moved his handcuffed arms from his back to his front side through his legs, ignoring warnings from deputies, Matherne said.

Lee was taken to the Lafourche Parish Detention Center and charged with hate crimes, home invasion, simple criminal damage to property, simple escape and simple battery.

He is held in lieu of a $66,000 bond.

 

High speed chase ends with vehicle in flames

Two suspects are in custody after Thibodaux Police said they conducted a drive-by shooting and then led officers on a high-speed chase that ended in a crash and a vehicle being engulfed in flames.

TPD Chief Scott Silverii said that Thursday morning at 7:48 a.m., Jason Chatman, 24, of 415 Fieldcrest Drive, Houma and Loron Smith, 21, of 505 La. Highway 20, Schriever, shot into a home in the 1200 Block of St. Charles Street in Thibodaux and then fled the scene.

When TPD searched the vehicle, a cruiser was nearly struck head-on by an automobile that matched the description of the car in question, Silverii said.

A high-speed chase ensued, and Silverii said the vehicle crashed into another at Talbot Avenue and Duplantis and sped away.

The police chief said the chase ended when the vehicle crashed again further up the road – a wreck that caused the vehicle to explode in flames.

Smith was the passenger. He quickly surrendered to TPD.

Chatman was the driver. He was apprehended after a brief foot pursuit.

No one was seriously injured in the crashes.

Chatman is charged with aggravated flight from an officer and is facing charges from the state police for two counts of hit and run, reckless operation of a motor vehicle and no driver’s license.

Smith is charged with failure to appear and carnal knowledge of a juvenile in Terrebonne.

Silverii said he wanted to thank the Schriever Fire Department for responding to the scene and containing the fire, which created a smoke pillar around 200 feet in the air.

 

Foot chase nets Lafourche wanted suspect

A wanted suspect with 31 prior arrests is now in the custody of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office.

LPSO spokesman Brennan Matherne said that deputies were on patrol on La. Highway 1 in Raceland last Thursday when they noticed Jennifer Joseph, 42, of 160 Brocato Lane, Raceland.

The deputies knew that Joseph had an active warrant for her arrest – warrants totaling $50,000.

As deputies turned the patrol unit around and activated emergency lights, Joseph tried to flee on foot. Deputies exited the patrol unit and were able to arrest her after a brief foot chase.

Joseph was taken to the Lafourche Parish Detention Center and has been charged with resisting an officer.

She also was charged on her three outstanding warrants for contempt of court.

She is held in lieu of a $65,000 bond.

Matherne said Joseph’s contempt of court charges come from a court appearance following drug and theft charges in 2012.

The spokesman said Joseph has been arrested 31 times for a litany of charges including battery, theft, resisting an officer and drug-related charges.

Multi-agency investigation stops drug ring

A 45-year-old is charged with attempted first-degree murder and arson for his alleged role in a weekend fire in Houma.

Last Friday at 11:25, Houma Police responded to the 8500 block of Main Street in reference to a fire. Once on the scene, HPD and the Houma Fire Department came in contact with five subjects who exited the structure, which was now engulfed in flames.

The individuals were immediately taken to a safer location.

As the evacuation took place, deputies observed a male subject exit a local bar across the street from the fire.

Police said the man was screaming that a relative was inside of the residence and he had to be physically subdued from entering the structure.

The individual was identified as Man Van Tran.

Upon investigation, police learned Van Tran used to live in the residence, but no longer did because of an unknown circumstance.

Detectives learned that an argument had taken place earlier in the day among Van Tran and the occupants of the residence – a disagreement that got physical.

As more information surfaced, HPD said they started to believe that Van Tran was the person responsible for starting the fire.

He was taken into custody and charged with five counts of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated arson.

All five victims were treated and released at a local medical facility.

 

Deputies make two DWI arrests on men with prior offenses

Two men are arrested for DWI and other charges following separate traffic stops on Friday night.

Darren Thibodaux, 38, of 114 Parlonge St., Thibodaux and Dewayne Beck, 35, of Haddock, Ga., had both been arrested on prior DWI offenses and also had outstanding warrants for their arrest.

Shortly after midnight on June 7, deputies on patrol of St. Mary St. initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle for a traffic violation. During that time, they made contact with the driver, Thibodaux, who deputies believed was showing signs of intoxication.

LPSO spokesman Brennan Matherne said the driver had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage from his breath and also from inside of the vehicle.

Matherne said Thibodaux didn’t have a driver’s license, but was identified by a state ID card.

Deputies conducted a field sobriety test, but Thibodaux stopped the test and said he didn’t want to continue. He submitted to a breathalyzer test, which showed he had a blood alcohol content above the legal limit.

Once doing a background check, Matherne said deputies learned that Thibodaux had two active warrants for contempt of court. He was charged with DWI (3rd offense), driving under suspension, no turn signal and two counts of contempt of court.

About two hours later, Matherne said deputies in the Raceland area noticed a truck heading northbound on La. Highway 308 with an equipment violation, which initiated a traffic stop.

Deputies identified Beck as the driver. There were three other passengers in the vehicle.

Matherne said deputies learned Beck was driving without a driver’s license and the odor of alcohol was smelled in his presence.

Beck refused both the field sobriety test and the breathalyzer test, so authorities obtained a search warrant for his blood.

Results on the blood test are pending.

The suspect is charged with DWI with child endangerment (4th DWI), improper child restraint, no driver’s license and no license plate lights.

He was also booked on active warrants for contempt of court.