Priest jailed after resisting authorities in rampage

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A Catholic priest got in trouble with the law this holiday weekend after an alleged drunken rampage in which police say he fired a rifle in the air, threatened a store clerk and kicked a deputy in the groin.

The Rev. Joseph Tu Tran, 51, from St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Pointe-aux-Chenes, was “highly intoxicated” when he went into a convenience store in Bourg on Thanksgiving night carrying a 12-gauge shotgun, authorities said.

There, he was accused of threatening a store clerk with a .270-caliber rifle, Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Jerry J. Larpenter said. No one was hurt in the incident.

A deputy was near the store when a shot was fired and a second clerk called police. When deputies arrived at the scene, Tu Tran had put the guns away and told a deputy “nobody needs you here,” Larpenter said.

When the clerks and a witness confirmed Tu Tran had fired a round into the air just moments before the deputies arrived, they placed him under arrest, Larpenter said.

Houma-Thibodaux Bishop Sam Jacobs, accompanied by several diocese officials, bonded the priest out, according to the Rev. Roch Naquin.

Tu Tran was released on a $5,000 cash bond. He faces three charges: Disturbing the peace, illegal use of weapon and resisting an officer or battery of a police officer.

“I just hope it never happens again. These people were very scared,” Larpenter said.

Tu Tran has not commented on the incident. An answering service handling calls to St. Charles Borromeo told a reporter there would be “no comment.”

Diocese officials said they were saddened, although they said they suspected Tu Tran had problems with alcohol.

“We were beginning to hear some rumors he was drinking,” said Louis Aguirre, spokesman for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

Diocese officials plan to help Tu Tran, Aguirre said, adding that they are looking for a treatment center for Tu Tran.

“There is a lot of goodness in him,” Naquin said. “My hope is that he will be able to get into a good center to get some counseling where he can face the reality of his condition.”

A native of Vietnam, Tu Tran immigrated to the United States after fleeing the communist regime there in 1986, interrupting his seminary studies.

He lived in Amelia, Covington and New Orleans, where he completed his education in the priesthood.

Parishioners said Tu Tran was popular and that they wished him well.

“I am so shocked. I’ve never seen him with a weapon or drinking,” parishioner Angela Dupre said, adding that Tu Tran worked hard to help area families recover from last year’s hurricanes. “I wish him luck. … I’ll sure pray for him.”