CRIME BLOTTER: Reported offenses in the Tri-parishes

Thibodaux man charged with 4th DWI and drug possession

A 22-year-old Thibodaux man was charged with his fourth DWI this week.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said authorities responded to La. Highway 308 just south of Raceland at around 4:45 p.m. last Wednesday.

The call was in reference to a truck that was being operated recklessly and was forcing other vehicles off the road.

LPSO spokesman deputy Brennan Matherne said deputies located the truck headed northbound on La. Highway 308 and noticed that it was following another vehicle too closely.

Deputies then observed the truck pull into a driveway off Wolf Street, where they then pulled in behind the truck and conducted a stop.

Matherne said authorities made contact with the driver and identified him as Kerril Breaux Jr., 22, of 1213 Park Drive, Thibodaux. Upon contact, deputies said Breaux’s speech was slurred and he had a slight odor of alcohol from his breath.

Authorities said Breaux submitted to a field sobriety test, which he performed poorly.

A K-9 officer then arrived on the scene to assist and located officers to the presence of a possible narcotic inside the vehicle.

Upon a search, authorities located a suspected 21-and-one-half Klonopin pills.

Breaux was arrested and charged with fourth-offense DWI, following too closely and possession of Klonopin (Schedule IV) with the intent to distribute.

He is held in lieu of a $100,050 bond.

 

Houma man arrested on firearm charges

A 32-year-old Houma man is in custody for illegaly possessing firearms.

HPD said it responded to 342 New Orleans Blvd., in reference to an unknown black man who allegedly forced an unknown white man into a van, while carrying an assault style rifle.

During investigation, a description of the van was given to HPD, who spotted the vehicle shortly thereafter near the Houma twinspan heading toward east Houma.

Once located, officers conducted a stop during which they identified the driver of the van as Courtney Nixon, 32, of 602 Beaumont St., Houma. Officers also located the other person inside the vehicle, but he told officers he was not forced into the vehicle by Nixon.

HPD said Nixon informed officers that he had a loaded Tech 9 semi-automatic weapon in his vehicle.

Upon a background search, officers discovered that Nixon was a convicted felon, which led to the suspect’s immediate arrest.

Nixon is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was also charged with illegal proceeds from drug transactions after officers located $2,500 in cash in his possession.

Police said they had prior knowledge that Nixon was the subject of an ongoing narcotics investigation.

 

LDWF cites deer hunters in St. Mary Parish

Seven St. Mary Parish hunters were cited earlier this month on a range of deer hunting-related charges.

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division Senior Agents Scott Dupre and Jake Darden cited Linzy Howard III, 44, of Morgan City for hunting deer with an unplugged shotgun and possession of an untagged deer; Ernest Singleton, 45, of Morgan City, for hunting deer with an unplugged shotgun; Joshua Williams, 25, of Morgan City, for failing to comply with deer tagging regulations; Derwin Hebert, 38, of Morgan City, for hunting deer with an unplugged gun; Arik Louviere, 17, of Morgan City, for possession of untagged deer and over the limit of deer; Johnathan Francis, 59, of Morgan City, for hunting deer with an unplugged shotgun; and Rodney Singleton, 39, of Houma, for hunting deer with an unplugged shotgun and possession of untagged deer.

Agents stopped the men to conduct a license and compliance check after the group was seen leaving Avoca Island in St. Mary Parish. During the check, agents discovered that only one of the four deer in the group’s possession was tagged properly, and that Louviere had killed two antlerless deer, over the legal limit of one-per-day.

The deer were seized and donated to charity, and restitution on the deer was assessed at $1,624.61 per animal.

The hunters’ charges of unplugged shotguns, possession of an untagged deer and possessing over the limit of deer carry fines ranging for $250 to $500 and up to 90 days in jail for each offense. Those in violation of deer tagging regulations may also face a fine of $100 to $350 and up to 60 days in jail.

 

Guilty plea entered on robbery, drug charges

A Thibodaux man pleaded guilty to multiple charges in court last week.

Deonte Mathews, 18, of 443 Frederick Drive, was facing simple robbery and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana charges, Lafourche District Attorney Cam Morvant said in a release.

District Judge Ashly Bruce Simpson sentenced Mathews to five years for the robbery charge, 12 for the cocaine charge and eight years for the marijuana charge. All are set to run concurrently.

 

Hurricane Isaac looting suspect arrested

A Hurricane Isaac looting suspect has been arrested in Ponchatoula through a Crimestoppers tip.

Plaquemines Parish sheriff’s detectives tell The Times-Picayune 19-year-old Aaron Landry, of Galliano, was arrested earlier this month for 10 residential burglaries that occurred in the Buras area during Isaac.

Sheriff Lonnie Greco said detectives determined that each looted home was entered by force and intentionally vandalized. Greco says the estimated combined property damage and value of stolen items is about $100,000 and stolen items included Xbox video game accessories, speakers and jewelry.

Tangipahoa Parish sheriff’s deputies arrested Landry in a relative’s backyard shed, where he had been hiding out.

Officials had been looking for Landry since Sept. 11.

 

Thibodaux man arrested for auto theft and drug charges

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced this week that a Thibodaux man is in custody for his alleged role in an auto theft and drug-related charges.

Last Wednesday, LPSO spokesman deputy Brennan Matherne said members of the Lafourche Parish Drug Task Force were in Thibodaux when they noticed a vehicle parked in the roadway on Hyland Drive.

Matherne said agents initated a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, identifying him as Kendall Mathews, 29, of 228 Carol St., Thibodaux.

Agents immediately placed Mathews under arrest because he had an outstanding warrant for theft of a motor vehicle, distribution of marijuana and contempt of court. At the time of the arrest, agents said they also noticed a small bag of suspected marijuana in Mathews’ driver’s side door.

During a following search, Matherne said agents located a plastic bag with several pieces of suspected crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia.

Matherne said Mathews had been wanted by the Nicholls State Police since Dec. 2011 for theft of a motor vehicle.

He was arrested on the outstanding warrants and is now additionally charged with possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He was booked into the Lafourche Parish Detention Center where he remains in lieu of a $232,250 bond.

 

3 arrested for prostitution

The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office has charged three men it said were soliciting sex in exchange for money

Last Tuesday, agents with the Terrebonne Narcotics Task Force conducted an operation concentrating on prostitution within Terrebonne Parish hotels.

During the operation, agents nabbed Paul Edwin Heffner, 36, of 4714 Enchanted Rock Lane, Spring, Texas; Jacob John LeBlanc, 30, of 302 El Vira Drive, Raceland; and Michael Shane Wilkerson, 41, of 111 North Ridge Road, Hattiesburg, Miss.

The three were identified after authorities investigated females registered at local hotels that engage in prostitution.

All of the men are charged with solicitation of prostitution.