Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced a reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of a man who attempted to use a counterfeit bill at a Larose truck stop.
At around 10:15 a.m. on Friday, August 18, deputies responded to a truck stop on LA Highway 308 in Larose in reference to a male subject having attempted to use a counterfeit bill. After the cashier told the subject the bill was fake, he left the store in a black sedan. Surveillance cameras captured photos of the suspect and the vehicle.
Anyone who can identify the suspect, or anyone with any information on this incident, is asked to submit a tip anonymously through Crime Stoppers Bayou Region by phone at 1-800-743-7433 or online at www.crimestoppersbr.org. Tips can also be submitted using the P3 Tips app on your mobile device. Tipsters could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 in cash if the information leads to an arrest.
Sheriff Craig Webre announced the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office will offer a Beginner Handgun Course on Saturday, September 30, 2017, at the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office Shooting Range located at 3451 Highway 182 in Raceland. This class is designed for first-time firearms owners and persons looking to learn basic fundamentals about firearm ownership. Class will begin at 8 a.m. and last until around noon. The actual ending time will vary due to class size.
This course will include the following:
Firearms handling and shooting safety
Firearms parts and their operation
Ammunition and its function
Shooting fundamentals and an opportunity to develop them on the range
How to select, clean, and store a firearm
Review of various activities available to help participants develop their shooting skills
One hour of live range fire with certified Range Safety instructor
The cost for the course is $50, and advance registration is suggested due to class size. CLICK HERE to register online, or for more information, contact Lt. Lafate Day at (985) 449-4485 or by email at lafate-day@lpso.net. Participants will need to bring 50 rounds of ammunition, eye protection (sunglasses or eyeglasses are sufficient), and ear protection (muffs or plugs).
Sheriff Craig Webre announced the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office will host a Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) course on September 25, 26, and 27 at The Learning Center at Lady of the Sea Hospital in Cut Off. This self-defense course is designed exclusively for women and will take place over the course of all three days. The class will begin at 6 p.m. and end around 9:30 p.m. each day. Participants must attend all three days. Course instruction will be provided by certified R.A.D. instructions from the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The cost of the course is $10 to cover the cost of course materials. Class size is limited, and advance registration is required. You can register online here: www.LPSO.net/RADsignup. Payment cannot be made through the online sign-up form, but the fee must be pre-paid and is non-refundable. Please send payment by mail, along with your name, address, and phone number to Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, Attn: Captain Lafate Day, 1300 Lynn Street, Thibodaux, LA 70301. Please make checks payable to the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office. The deadline to register for the class is Wednesday, September 20 at 11 a.m.
For more information, please contact Captain Lafate Day at (985) 449-4485 or by email at lafate-day@lpso.net.
Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced four impaired drivers were removed from the roadways overnight and charged with driving while intoxicated. Two passengers also face criminal charges and two other fugitives were also arrested. The arrests come as a result of increased patrol efforts through the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign which runs through September 3.
The following individuals were charged with DWI overnight:
Beau Gaubert (age 37) of Gibson – also charged with Possession of Diazepam and Drug Paraphernalia.
Corey Woods (age 33) of Schriever – also charged with Possession of Synthetic Marijuana, speeding, and driving under suspension.
Donald Humphrey (age 54) of Golden Meadow – also charged with Possession of an Alcoholic Beverage in a Motor Vehicle and no driver’s license.
Lucius Thomas (age 64) of Thibodaux – also charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and failure to use a turn signal.
Deputies obtained warrants for blood tests on each of the four drivers during the investigations, and the results are pending at the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab in Baton Rouge. Humphrey refused to submit to a field sobriety test or a breathalyzer test, and Gaubert, Woods and Thomas were tested due to suspicion of narcotics use.
Thomas’s two passengers, Edward Keller Sr. (age 71) and Andrea Williams (age 34), both of Thibodaux, also face charges. Keller was charged with Possession of an Alcoholic Beverage in a Motor Vehicle, and Williams was arrested after she was found to have a warrant for probation violation. Gaubert’s passenger, Amanda Felarise (age 34) of Larose, was charged with Possession of a Legend Drug without a Prescription and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced a Bayou Blue man has been charged with attempted murder after a shooting incident that occurred Sunday morning. Jared Walker (age 37) of Bayou Blue also faces other charges in the incident.
At around 6 a.m. on Sunday, August 20, deputies responded to a complaint on Lacroix Drive, and upon arrival, they found a man lying in the street with a gunshot wound near his abdomen. Jared Walker emerged from a nearby residence and advised deputies that he had shot the victim. Walker was immediately detained, and the victim was airlifted to University Medical Center in New Orleans where he remains in stable condition.
Walker was found to have an outstanding warrant for a parole violation and he was arrested and booked into the Lafourche Parish Detention Center in Thibodaux. Detectives learned Walker and the victim were involved in a physical altercation the previous day, and on Sunday morning, they were having a verbal altercation at Walker’s residence. At one point, Walker retrieved a shotgun and allegedly fired a single round striking the victim. Detectives obtained warrants for Walker’s arrest, and on Wednesday August 23, he was additionally booked with Attempted Second Degree Murder and Illegal Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. His bond on those charges is set at $300,000, but he is being held without bond due to the parole violation.
Detectives say the investigation is continuing, and additional charges are possible.
Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced a reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for stealing a purse left unattended in a shopping cart outside a Cut Off Department store.
At approximately 3:30 p.m. on Friday, August 18, a woman exited the department store and placed items she had purchased into her vehicle. She then drove away leaving her purse unattended in the shopping cart. She returned a few minutes later to find her purse was no longer present. The small purse was black and gray in color with small squares which contained the letter “G.”
A surveillance camera captured an image of the suspect who is believed to be a white female driving a dark green SUV. Anyone who can identify the suspect or who may have information on this crime is asked to submit a tip anonymously through Crime Stoppers Bayou Region by phone at 1-800-743-7433 or online at www.crimestoppersbr.org. Tips can also be submitted using the P3 Tips app on your mobile device. Tipsters could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 in cash if the information leads to an arrest.
Sheriff Craig Webre announced the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office will conduct a seat belt checkpoint and a DWI checkpoint on Friday, August 25 in Lafourche Parish. These checkpoints are being held in conjunction with the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign which runs August 19 through September 3, 2017. The campaign is coordinated and funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission.
The seat belt checkpoint will be conducted during the afternoon and evening hours on Friday, and the DWI checkpoint will begin Friday evening and continue into the early morning hours of Saturday, August 26. During the seat belt checkpoint, deputies will focus on checking motorists for seat belt and safety seat violations, and during the DWI checkpoint, deputies will be looking for drivers who are possibly impaired while checking for other traffic safety issues.
In addition to the checkpoints, additional deputies will be assigned to saturated patrol efforts targeting impaired drivers, and deputies will also participate in another checkpoint to be announced by another local agency.
Sheriff Webre reminds citizens to designate a driver if you are going to drink. Motorists suspected of DWI who refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test will lose their driver’s license for one year (first offense). For a second offense, the penalty increases to two years. Anyone convicted of a DWI offense while their driver’s license is suspended because of another DWI offense will face automatic prison time. Lafourche Parish is also a “No Refusal” parish, meaning if a suspected drunk driver refuses a breathalyzer test, deputies will seek a search warrant to have that person’s blood tested.
Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre reported that a 15-year-old male South Lafourche High School student has been charged with terrorizing after threatening to shoot a teacher and students. The incident allegedly occurred on Wednesday, August 16, but was not reported to school administrators until Friday. Investigators learned that on Wednesday, the student threatened to shoot a teacher and other students. The teen was absent from school Friday, but investigators made contact with him at his home. He was charged with Terrorizing and placed into the Lafourche Parish Juvenile Justice Facility.
Sheriff Webre said it’s an unfortunate situation to have a student charged with such a serious crime, especially so early in the school year. “We hope this reinforces our message to all students that any and all threats will be investigated and you will be charged,” said Sheriff Webre. “We want our students to think of school as a safe and nurturing environment, and we have zero tolerance for threats like this.”
Lafourche Parish Schools Superintendent Jo Ann Matthews, said, “Our discipline policy calls for an expulsion recommendation from the principal. Our district expulsion committee will hear the evidence and give the accused their due process.”
Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced a Thibodaux man already in jail for multiple counts of identity theft and his girlfriend have been charged with 43 counts of identity theft. Brent Poiencot (age 41) and Chelsea Guidry (age 26), both of Thibodaux, have each been charged in an ongoing investigation.
The investigation into Poiencot began in October 2016 as detectives were investigating multiple cases of identity theft wherein someone attempted to open credit card accounts using other people’s personal information. Detectives discovered evidence of identity theft at Poiencot’s residence and obtained a warrant for his arrest. In February 2017, Poiencot was arrested in Morgan City and later booked in Lafourche Parish on four counts of identity theft. Meanwhile, detectives had begun investigating additional identity theft cases wherein Poiencot allegedly opened a bank account in someone else’s name and deposited checks which he had stolen and altered. In June 2017, he was charged with five additional counts of identity theft.
As the investigation continued, detectives uncovered 43 additional instances of identity theft in similar circumstances wherein checks were stolen, altered, and deposited into accounts that were traced back to Poiencot and Guidry. Investigators obtained warrants for 43 counts of Identity Theft on both. Poiencot was still in jail from his previous arrests, and he was booked with the additional charges. In all, Poiencot is now charged with 56 counts of Identity Theft, four counts of Forgery and Violation of Parole. He continues to be held without bond.
On August 17, detectives made contact with Guidry, and she was taken into custody. Guidry was booked on the 43 counts of Identity Theft, and her bond is set at $215,000.
Sheriff Webre wishes to remind residents once again to review your credit history often to watch for any unusual or unauthorized activity. Citizens can go to www.AnnualCreditReport.com to obtain one free credit report online each year. If any unusual or unauthorized activity is discovered, contact the creditor to investigate the nature of the activity, and write down any and all relevant information. When possible, freeze or close the accounts, and then contact the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office to report the fraudulent activity. You should also contact the three major credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian) and request a “flag” on your account. This will trigger the agencies to notify you if anyone attempts to open a line of credit in your name.
Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced the arrest of Kendriontae Johnson (age 18) of Thibodaux for first degree rape of a child under the age of 13. On August 16, juvenile detectives opened an investigation after learning of a rape involving a child under the age of 13. Through investigation, detectives learned Johnson allegedly forced the child to have sexual intercourse. On August 17, detectives made contact with Johnson and questioned him about the incident. During questioning, Johnson admitted to having sexual intercourse with the child. Johnson was arrested and transported to the Lafourche Parish Detention Center in Thibodaux where he was booked with First Degree Rape. His bond is set at $100,000. Due to the nature of the crime, no further details will be released.
