Crime Blotter: Reported offenses in the Tri-parishes

TPSO sheriff sells boat
May 28, 2013
Larose energy-service firm unveils major expansion
May 28, 2013
TPSO sheriff sells boat
May 28, 2013
Larose energy-service firm unveils major expansion
May 28, 2013

Cut Off man facing second-degree murder charge


A Cut Off man is facing murder charges after allegedly shooting a 41-year-old Larose man, Lafourche authorities said.


Robert Paul Chouest, 30, of 188 ABC Lane, was charged with second-degree murder following the early morning shooting last Wednesday, Lafourche sheriff’s spokesman Brennan Matherne said.

Deputies responded to a call about the shooting around 4:45 a.m. Chouest, who admitted to deputies he’d been smoking crack cocaine before the incident, said Shawn Paul Galjour was lying in a neighbor’s drivew ay, the spokesman said. When Chouest called out to Galjour, he got no response. That’s when he reportedly fired one round from a scoped rifle, hitting Galjour in the head.


Matherne said Chouest told detectives he shot Galjour because he did not know the man’s intentions. Chouest did admit to investigators that he did not believe Galjour posed a threat.

Chouest is being held at the Lafourche Parish Detention Center in Thibodaux in lieu of $750,000 bond.


“Louisiana law clearly defines when a homicide can be considered justifiable, and the circumstances of this shooting do not make it justifiable,” Sheriff Craig Webre said in a press release.


Webre said detectives are uncertain why Galjour was in the neighborhood that morning, “but through Chouest’s own admission, Galjour was lying down and had not made any threatening movement or given any other indication that would have led a reasonable person to be in fear of his life thereby justifying the use of deadly force.”

The investigation in the shooting is ongoing.


 

Immigrant charged in Cut Off baby’s death


The death of a 20-month-old boy reportedly shaken to death prompted last Tuesday’s arrest of a Mexican National residing in Cut Off, Lafourche authorities said.

Emmanuel Hernandez, 24, was charged with second-degree murder after his girlfriend’s toddler was removed from life support, sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Brennan Matherne said.


Gonzales rushed the child, Enmanuel Gonzales, of 248 W. 59th St., Cut Off, to a local hospital May 15 after the boy began having trouble breathing, Matherne said.


The child was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans, the spokesman said. Two days later, Children’s Hospital representatives notified Lafourche sheriff’s detectives, informing them that Enmanuel Gonzales’ injuries were consistent with those associated with shaken baby syndrome.

The child was removed from life support over the weekend, Matherne said.


Because Hernandez did not have legal residency in the United States, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained him. Matherne said detectives obtained a warrant for his arrest, and he is being held at the Lafourche Parish Detention Center in lieu of a $1 million bond.

The investigation is ongoing.


 

Illegal cigar, loud tunes tip Houma police to distribute


Crosby Nickerson, 43, of 111 Oliver Lane, Houma, was riding in style in his Chevrolet Suburban last Monday – music blaring and a marijuana cigar dangling from his mouth, Houma Police said.


Nickerson reportedly admitted to detectives, during a traffic stop, that he had been smoking the cigar, Police Chief Todd Duplantis said. A search of his vehicle turned up additional trouble: 17 individually wrapped plastic bags of marijuana in the center console and approximately $125, he said.

Nickerson was arrested and charged with possession of Schedule I (marijuana), possession with intent to distribute and proceeds derived from the sales of illegal narcotics.

 

Houma man rolls into jail with stolen tire deal gone wrong

Surveillance video was the undoing of a vehicle burglary last Thursday at Greg Leblanc Nissan in Houma, according to Terrebonne sheriff’s spokesman Major Malcolm Wolfe.

Deputies were notified May 16 that a vehicle at the dealership waiting to be serviced had been burglarized the night before. Someone broke in and removed the stereo system and speakers, Wolfe said. All four tires and rims were also gone.

The vehicle’s owner was notified the following Monday that aftermarket tires and rims were being advertised on the Cajun Swap Shop website. A friend of the victim contacted the seller – Jermaine Joseph Netters, 29, of 103 B. Senator Circle, Houma – and arranged to buy the tires and rims, Wolfe said. Netters and the buyer agreed to meet at the Walmart parking lot on Grand Caillou Road to complete the deal.

When Netters arrived with the tires and rims, sheriff’s deputies and detectives moved in. Netters later confessed to stealing the tires and rims, Wolfe said. He was charged with felony theft over $1,500. His bond is set at $15,000.

Wolfe said anyone with information about the theft is asked to call the Terrebonne sheriff’s detective bureau at (985) 876-2500. The case remains under investigation.

 

Thibodaux man pleads guilty to possession of stolen mail

Joel Raymond Polaski, 49, of Thibodaux, pleaded guilty in federal court last Wednesday to possession of stolen mail, according to U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente.

Sentencing in U.S. District Judge Helen G. Berrigan’s courtroom is set for Aug. 28. Polaski faces a maximum term of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervision upon his release.

According to court documents, Advantage Equipment LLC, a company contacted by the U.S. Postal Service to transport mail, hired Polaski as a highway contract route driver. Polaski had several parcels belonging to others that he had stolen from the Gray, La., post office.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Loan “Mimi” Nguyen is prosecuting it.

 

SMSO announces arrests

St. Mary sheriff’s deputies arrested Bobby Lee Beard, 30, 7527 Highway 182, Apt. 10, Morgan City, Thursday on a warrant for failing to appear on the charges of possession synthetic cannabinoids, drug paraphernalia and abuse of toxic vapors, spokeswoman Traci Landry said.

Beard was arrested at his home and booked at the parish jail. His bond is $5,000.

Deputies also reported the arrest of Charles I. Brown, 51, of 924 Cherry St., Morgan City, was arrested Thursday for theft.

Deputies were notified around 9:37 p.m. that a suspicious person was at the Cash Magic Casino on U.S. Highway 90 in Bayou Vista, Landry said. The same man was spotted two nights earlier stealing a miter saw out of a truck as he left the casino, she said.

In speaking with Brown, deputies learned he did steal the saw, Landry said.

He was booked on the theft charge, but released after posting a $1,000 bond.