Crime Blotter: Reported offenses in the Tri-parishes

2 Raceland men confess to involvement in vehicle burglaries

Two Raceland men allegedly confessed this week to several vehicle burglaries that occurred on Plaisance Drive last Tuesday morning.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said that deputies were called to the street during the early hours of the morning.

During investigation, authorities learned that a debit card had been stolen and later used at a nearby convenience store.

Through studying the case, deputies were able to identify Vincent Gauthreaux, 20, of 148 Plaisance Drive, as the suspect who used the card. The deputies also learned that Todd Lucas Jr., 20, of 188 St. Ann St., was the person responsible for committing the actual burglaries.

Authorities located Gauthreaux at his residence and recovered several items reported stolen in the incidents – including several electronic devices and other items of value. During questioning, authorities said Gauthreaux admitted to knowing about the stolen items and the stolen debit card. They also said that Lucas admitted to burglarizing several vehicles, as well as also using the debit card himself.

Both Lucas and Gauthreaux were taken into custody and were booked into the Lafourche Parish Detention Center.

Lucas is charged with eight counts of simple burglary of a motor vehicle and unauthorized use of an access card. He also was booked on an outstanding warrant for contempt of court.

Gauthreaux is charged with eight counts of accessory after the fact to simple burglary and unauthorized use of an access card.

Additional charges filed against double homicide suspect

Things went from bad to worse this week for 19-year-old Thibodaux man Alfred Starks.

Thibodaux Chief of Police Scott Silverii arrested Starks for his alleged role in a double homicide in the town’s limits this week.

Authorities said they found the bodies of 19-year-old Tre Scott and 26-year-old Jordy Williams, both of Thibodaux, when they were called to the area after receiving calls from citizens who reported hearing gunshots.

Police on the scene said they found a vehicle with both victims inside – each with gunshot wounds.

After investigation, authorities identified Starks as a suspect, taking him into custody on charges of second-degree murder.

A few days after the murder and arrest, TPD filed additional charges against Starks, who is now also charged with aggravated assault with a firearm.

Silverii said that in a separate incident, witnesses reported seeing Starks fire a gun multiple times at a fleeing person at the corner of St. Charles and East 12th streets. The witnesses said the shots were fired following an argument.

The victim was not injured, according to authorities, but bullets from the melee struck a home in the 600 block of East 12th Street.

Multiple arrests made after sweep of Terrebonne schools

For the past two weeks, Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Jerry Larpenter said that his K-9 Division has been conducting random searches of Terrebonne Parish high schools.

On Sept. 16, authorities conducted a search at South Terrebonne High School – during which authorities found marijuana in a vehicle. As a result of the search, authorities arrested Austin Lirette, 17, of 4692 La. Highway 56, Chauvin.

On Sept. 20, authorities did a K-9 search at Terrebonne of 75 vehicles. As a result of the search, three students were charged with possession of marijuana.

The names of the students were not released by the sheriff’s office.

On Sept. 25, authorities searched 180 vehicles at H.L. Bourgeois, finding weapons, marijuana, cigarettes and alcohol on the school’s grounds.

Six students were charged in that search. They are listed as follows with their charges:

-Joseph Bourg, 17, of 155 Water Plant Road, Schriever (possession of alcohol and possession of tobacco products).

-Cole Dupre, 17, of 3458 West Main St., Schriever (simple possession of marijuana and possession of tobacco products)

-Cole Tyler, 18, of 232 St. Julian St., Schriever (possession of a firearm on school property; a pellet rifle)

-Tyler Dupre, 19, of 4518-A North Bayou Black Drive, Gibson (simple possession of marijuana)

-Hunter Neil, 17, of 4122 Southdown Mandalay, Houma (possession of a firearm on school property; 12-gauge shotgun)

-Michael Hoffpauir, 19, of 402 Lydia St., Gray (simple possession of marijuana)

Suspect nabbed for simple burglary of inhabited dwelling

A 25-year-old Dulac man is in custody on a $50,000 bond after authorities allege that he broke into an inhabited dwelling.

Terrebonne Sheriff Jerry Larpenter said that on Sept. 24, detectives arrested Trent Elstner, 25, of 127 Lakeview Drive, Dulac, for simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling.

Authorities said the crime was committed in the 4000 block of Southdown Mandalay in Houma this past June. During the break-in, authorities said a laptop computer and a large flat screen TV were taken.

After several weeks of investigating, Elstner was identified as a suspect.

Last Tuesday at 11:15 p.m., detectives received a tip that Elstner was at a local lounge on Lafayette Street. Authorities responded to the location and made contact with the suspect, arresting him for questioning – during which authorities said he confessed to the break-in.

The suspect said that he stole the items to support his drug addiction, according to authorities.

Raceland man convicted on narcotics charges

A Raceland man was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Lafourche Parish jury this week after being found guilty of a slew of narcotics charges.

Israel Dawson, 54, was convicted on three counts of possession with the intent to distribute schedule IV drugs, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of both clonazepam and phentermine.

The Hon. F. Hugh Larose sentenced the man to 10 years in prison on each of the counts, except for the possession of clonazepam and phentermine – charges that yielded five-year sentences.

The judge ordered all of the sentenced to be served concurrently, which means the convicted man will spend a decade behind bars.

“Mr. Dawson is a retired postal worker from Texas who has chosen to go down the wrong road in life,” said Assistant District Attorney Ben Caillouet, who prosecuted the case. “Hopefully he will learn his lesson throughout the time he is incarcerated and come out of prison with a different outlook on life and a better way to earn money.”

Third suspect nabbed in Amelia shooting

The St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office announced that a third suspect is in custody after a shooting outside of a lounge on La. Highway 182 in Amelia this past June.

Around 2 a.m. on June 14, authorities said that three male subjects approached a male victim and tried to rob him. During a brief struggle, authorities said the victim was shot. Two suspects were taken into custody following an investigation, but the third man Joseph Aaron Cagnolatti, 18, of 1207 Railroad Avenue, Morgan City, remained at-large.

After getting a tip that Cagnolatti was in Baton Rouge, authorities, with assistance of the U.S. Marshalls Office, located the suspect in the area, taking him into custody on charges of attempted first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery with a firearm.