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A 35-year-old parolee with a history of violence faces multiple felony charges in connection with his takeover of a Houma city police car last week outside the Terrebonne Pariah jail with a pistol he had somehow gotten his hands on. Which resulted in a two-hour standoff during which he suffered a minor self-inflicted gunshot wound
An investigation is underway to determine how the prisoner was able to access the gun.
Standard Whitrack of Houma was booked Thursday, Jan. 31 for attempted first degree murder of a police officer; illegal use of a weapon: discharging a weapon from a motor vehicle; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; aggravated criminal damage to property; resisting an officer as a misdemeanor and felony unauthorized use of a movable. Whitrack is also the subject of a detainer from the Louisiana Department of Probation and Parole-Whitracks bond was set at $900000 by State District Judge Johnny Walker, but he is now also the subject of a hold by the Louisiana Department of Probation and Parole.
Houma Police Chief Dana Coleman said hi? officers attempted to arrest Whitrack shortly after midnight Thursday on a complaint that he had used an uncle’s auto without permission During the arrest, police said, Whitrack resisted and a nonlethal Taser was used to subdue him Due to injuries from that incident a handcuffed Whitrack was brought to Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center for examination. Officials said that at the time of his arrest Whitrack was subjected to what they referred to as a “pat-down” but gave no further details cm how he was searched. One officer familiar with the case said it was possible that the search was hurried due to the contentious circumstances of the arrest An official said Whitrack was subject to what was referred to as a “strip search” while at Chabert but that claim could not be confirmed with hospital officials.
In any event Whitrack was taken from the hospital back to the police car. HPD Unit 354. The officer drove about four miles from the hospital to the parish jail. Sometime after 3 a.m. as the car approached the jail entrance on Grand Caillou Road, the handcuffed Whitrack allegedly produced a pistol.
“The transporting officer turned around and observed Whitrack in the back seat handcuffed to his rear and in possession of a semi-automatic pistol” Chief Coleman said. “Several threats were made to the officer, so he stopped the patrol unit immediately, exited, and Whitrack fired the weapon”
The suspect remained barricaded in me car as State Police troopers. Terrebonne Pariah deputies and city officers surrounded the area. A negotiator began dialogue with Whitrack, attempting to convince him to drop the weapon. Whitrack refused
As dawn began to break, traffic was held up on both sides of Grand Caillon Road. The Terrebonne Pariah 8aerhTs Office 3 WAT team had been moralized and shortly before 6:30 a.m. officials confirmed, a non-lethal flashbang grenade was used to distract Whitrack. Who turned the weapon on himself while still handcuffed, inflicting a wound to his side.
The transporting officer, identified by a ranking law enforcement official as Sidney Theriot was uninjured. An investigation is ongoing to determine how and why Whitrack possessed a pistol while in police custody. One early theory police are working with is the potential that Whitrack may have secreted the pistol during his arrest stashed it in the patrol car, and than accessed it on the trip to the jail No police gunshots were fired at Whitrack, authorities said.
The original complaint against Whitrack was taken by police Wednesday night, when they responded to the 1200 block of Division Avenue A man identified as Whitrack’s uncle that his nephew had taken his 3013 Dodge Ram pickup without permission. The prior night the victim told police. Whitrack had come to his home seeking a place to sleep. When the man awoke Wednesday he found that Whitrack and his truck were missing.
As a result of the investigation, city police were on the lookout for Whitrack and the Dodge truck, and they sought to secure a warrant for the suspects arrest Shortly before Midnight on Wednesday night officers were dispatched to Prince Collins Street regarding a vehicle in the middle of the road A man was asleep in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, which turned out to be the pickup officers were seeking. The man in the car was identified as Whitrack. resulting in the initial struggle and the arrest.
Whitrack has had other brushes with the law, most recently a 2016 carjacking arrest according to court and police records. In connection with that incident Whitrack had led police on a brief chase before he was apprehended.
