Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced an inmate at the Lafourche Parish Detention Center died of an apparent suicide on Sunday, October 7. Inmate Samuel Williams, 36, of Westwego was pronounced dead at a local hospital on Sunday.

At 4:37 a.m. on Sunday, correctional officers discovered Williams hanging in his cell and unresponsive. He was transported to Thibodaux Regional Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead. His death appears to be self-inflicted, but an investigation is continuing. He had no known conflicts with any inmates, nor was he believed to be a danger to harm himself.

Williams was in jail due to his arrest on September 15, 2018, following a pursuit which began in Assumption Parish. LPSO deputies assisted in the pursuit after Williams drove into Lafourche Parish on LA Highway 1 shortly after 1:45 a.m. that morning. Williams turned down LA Highway 3185, and he eventually fled on foot near Talbot Avenue. He was taken into custody shortly thereafter. Williams was charged with Aggravated Flight from an Officer, Resisting an Officer, and other traffic violations in both parishes in the incident. He also had active contempt warrants for Lafourche Parish related to a prior DWI charge and an active warrant for the Patterson Police Department for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle.