Fewer homicides reported locally in past 12 months

Local law enforcement agencies worked on fewer homicide cases in 2014 than they did in 2013, according to information provided to The Times by the agencies.

According to the data, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office handled five homicides in 2014 after handling nine in 2013. The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office handled two homicide cases in 2014 after handling six in 2013. As for our municipality police services, the Thibodaux Police Department handled one homicide in 2014 after handling a double homicide case in 2013, and the Lockport Police Department reported no homicides handled in 2014 and one in 2013.

The Houma Police Department did not provide information to The Times by press time, and the Golden Meadow Police Department could not be reached before Monday evening’s press deadline.

All reported cases in the last two years have been closed but two, and those incidents happened in late December, according to local agencies.

In cases worked by the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office, eight of the nine 2013 homicides were cleared by arrest.

In the other, the suspect took his own life, according to Assistant Chief of Detectives Captain Dawn Foret. In 2014, four of the five homicide cases netted a suspect’s arrest. The most recent homicide case it is working, involves the death of Steven Portier in which his body was found Dec. 23. That case remains open, according to authorities.

Foret said that when a killing has been found to have occurred, detectives are on call and able to respond at all times of day or night. Additionally, all detectives generally volunteer to stay late and work as long as necessary to get to a point where the case is either solved or at a standstill, she said. There are 12 detectives, four juvenile detectives and four crime scene investigators within the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office.

“Every time someone loses a loved one, whether it be a brother or sister, a child, a husband, whatever their relationship is, someone always has a concerned family member who wants to see justice for their deceased loved one, so it’s rewarding to be able to give them that sense of peace and that sense of justice,” said Foret. “And for us to be able to put all the pieces together and take a bad guy off the street is rewarding as well… We have a lot of experience in our detective bureau and a lot of detectives who put aside their personal lives to try to get these cases solved as quickly and as proficiently as possible.”

Foret attributes the department’s high arrest proficiency to solid police work 101, however she said technological advancements have become a huge part of investigations within the sheriff’s office.

“Now with the advances in forensics, we are having our crime scene investigators trained more frequently and on new and improved forensic techniques of collecting evidence and processing evidence,” said Foret.

The same can be said for the Laforuche Parish Sheriff’s Office, where Public Information Officer Deputy Brennan Matherne said the agency has embraced technology in policing and investigative tactics.

“[Sheriff Craig Webre] is a fan of anything that will allow us as deputies to do our jobs better and more efficiently, and because of that, we have been blessed with the ability to go out and purchase those items or acquire those resources that we need,” Matherne said. “Do we have absolutely everything that you would see on TV when you’re watching NCIS? Well, no. That’s almost unlimited resources. But do we have a lot more than other agencies? Yes.”

However, Matherne noted that none of the technology replaces the work Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies and detectives do out in the field.

“They still have to dust for fingerprints. They still have to follow leads. They still have to talk to witnesses. All that technology does is organized all that information and puts it in one place for easy of access but it doesn’t change the way that we investigate crime,” Matherne said. “There’s no question that as technology increases it does help speed up the investigative process, but even the best technology doesn’t allow the untrained eye to come in and figure out and solve a case.”

Matherne added that the influx of surveillance cameras at private residences has helped solve crimes, as well.

Like in Terrebonne, Matherne said when there’s a major incident, all available detectives go out to the scene and investigate.

There are 27 investigators, including detectives, narcotics agents and a crime scene/forensics specialist within the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office.

This work has resulted in the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office closing all eight of its homicide cases in the past two years.

Lockport police closed its only homicide in the past two years.

Thibodaux Police closed its only homicide incident in 2013, and its only 2014 case remains open. That involves the Dec. 26 slaying of Lillian Alexis at Mojeaux’s.

Anyone with information on the slayings of Portier or Alexis is asked to call the Bayou Region Crime Stoppers at 1-800-743-7433.