The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating a shooting incident that has resulted in one man’s death. The shooting occurred this evening (September 7, 2022) in the 600 block of St. Louis Street in Raceland. The victim has been pronounced dead at a local hospital after having suffered several apparent gunshot wounds.
The investigation is ongoing. Additional details, including the victim’s identity, will be released later as they can be made available.
A Vermillion Parish man has been arrested in reference to threats he made to a Lafourche Parish woman and her family. Armon Walker, 24, of Abbeville was charged with terrorizing and cyberstalking.
On August 25, 2022, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office began investigating threats made by Walker to a woman residing in Choctaw. Walker made threats to shoot the woman and her family members, some of which were school-aged children. Due to the nature of the threats, deputies were dispatched to the woman’s residence and to the schools the children attend out of an abundance of caution. Meanwhile, detectives obtained warrants for Walker’s arrest.
Investigators believed Walker was still in Vermillion Parish that morning and reached out to authorities there. Deputies with the Vermillion Parish Sheriff’s Office located Walker on Thursday afternoon, and took him into custody.
Walker was transported to the Lafourche Parish Correctional Complex in Thibodaux. He was booked on warrants for terrorizing and cyberstalking. He is being held without bail.
NOTE: Per Act 494 (effective June 2022), these mug shots will not be released.
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating a threat made to a woman and her family who reside in the northern area of Lafourche Parish. The threat was reportedly made by an individual in Vermillion Parish. Out of an abundance of caution, deputies are present at the family’s home and schools where the children attend.
There is NO active threat inside any school. Again, additional deputies were deployed to the schools where the children attend only out of an abundance of caution.
Additional information will be released when it can be made available.
Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced narcotics agents have arrested four men in connection with an investigation into fentanyl pills. The fentanyl is being pressed into pill form to be disguised as oxycodone and other prescription drugs.
Over the past several months, narcotics agents have been conducting the investigation, with a concentration in the central area of Lafourche Parish. As part of that investigation, agents obtained several search warrants and arrest warrants for individuals who were distributing the fentanyl pills.
The following individuals have been arrested as part of this investigation:
Narcotics agents indicate the investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are expected. Agents also caution the public to be on the lookout for these pills and monitor children and family members for any and all medications they are taking.
Citizens are reminded that they can report any drug-related or suspicious activity. Information can be reported directly to the Narcotics section commander, Lieutenant Derek Champagne, at (985) 532-4365 or derek-champagne@lpso.net. Information can also be reported anonymously through Crime Stoppers Bayou Region at 1-800-743-7433, online at CrimeStoppersBR.org, or via the Bayou Tips app on mobile devices.
NOTE: Per Act 494 (effective June 2022), these mug shots will not be released.
Fentanyl Pressed Into Pill FormOne man was injured and another is in custody following a shooting on Paula Drive on Sunday. Blake Chiasson Jr., 20 is charged with aggravated second degree battery in the incident.
Just after 3 p.m. on August 21, 2022, deputies responded to a reported shooting in the 500 block of Paula Drive in Thibodaux. They found a 40-year-old man who had been shot in the leg. Deputies performed emergency care for the victim until medical personnel arrived at the scene. He was transported to a hospital by helicopter for treatment of his injuries which are not believed to be life-threatening.
Through investigation, detectives learned Blake Chiasson was sitting in a car parked on Paula Drive when the victim and two others walked up. Chiasson got into an argument with the victim. At one point, Chiasson pulled out a pistol and fired a single round striking the victim in the left leg. Chiasson then fled the scene in the car.
Later that afternoon, the car was located at a truck stop on LA 3185 in Thibodaux, and Chiasson was taken into custody. Following questioning, he was booked into the Lafourche Parish Correctional Complex in Thibodaux. He was charged with aggravated second degree battery. Bail is set at $100,000.
Sheriff Craig Webre announced the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office will conduct a seat belt checkpoint and a DWI checkpoint on Friday, August 19, 2022, in Lafourche Parish. These checkpoints are designed to help raise awareness for these types of violations and make the highways of the parish safer for all motorists.
A seat belt checkpoint will be conducted Friday evening in Lafourche Parish, and deputies will focus on checking motorists for seat belt and child safety seat violations. A DWI checkpoint will begin Friday evening following the seat belt checkpoint and will continue into the early morning hours of Saturday, August 20. During the DWI checkpoint, deputies will be looking for drivers who are possibly impaired while checking for other traffic safety issues.
Sheriff Webre reminds citizens to designate a driver if they 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 is asking for the public’s help in locating 16-year-old Brooklyn Landry of Second Street in Lockport. Landry attended school at Central Lafourche High School today, but she did not return home after school. She was last seen at school wearing her school uniform. Landry is described as 4’11” tall, weighing approximately 100 pounds with brown hair. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office at (985) 532-2808, or simply dial 911.
UPDATE: Strickland has been found and is safe.
ORIGINAL RELEASE:
Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre is asking for the public’s help in locating 17-year-old Somer Strickland of North Main Street in Lockport. She was last seen at her residence at 4 p.m. on August 10, 2022, when her grandmother left the residence. When the grandmother returned at around 6 p.m., Strickland was not at the residence, and a suitcase was also missing. Detectives believe that the juvenile had coordinated with friends from her hometown of Mobile, Alabama, to come to pick her up while her grandmother was away. It is believed that she may be headed to Mobile or already there.
Somer Strickland is described as 5’2″ tall, weighing approximately 160 pounds with black hair. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office at (985) 532-2808, or simply dial 911.
Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced narcotics agents arrested a Thibodaux man believed to be selling heroin and fentanyl. Jared Benoit, 31, of Thibodaux faces several charges following his arrest on Saturday.
Narcotics agents had recently opened an investigation into Benoit for drug distribution. On August 6, agents coordinated with patrol deputies who conducted a traffic stop on Benoit in the Raceland area. After obtaining consent to search his vehicle, agents located approximately 58 grams of a substance believed to be a mix of heroin and fentanyl. After learning of additional items at his residence, agents proceeded to Benoit’s Thibodaux home where they found additional amounts of heroin and suboxone.
Benoit was arrested and booked into the Lafourche Parish Correctional Complex in Thibodaux. He was charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin, as well as possession of suboxone. Bail is set at $155,000.
Citizens are reminded that they can report any drug-related or suspicious activity. Information can be reported directly to the Narcotics section commander, Lieutenant Derek Champagne, at (985) 532-4365 or derek-champagne@lpso.net. Information can also be reported anonymously through Crime Stoppers Bayou Region at 1-800-743-7433, online at CrimeStoppersBR.org, or via the Bayou Tips app on mobile devices.
NOTE: Per Act 494 (effective June 2022), no mug shot will be released.
Sheriff Craig Webre announced the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office will host a tax title sale on Tuesday, August 30, 2022. The tax sale will begin at 8 A.M. and conclude at 8 P.M. or earlier if all properties are sold. By hosting the sale online, bidders that would not normally be able to attend the auction in person are still able to participate.
This sale is open to the general public. A list of available properties and online registration will be available beginning on August 16, 2022, through our website at LPSO.net/TaxSale. Bidders are encouraged to participate online from the comfort and privacy of their own computer, but if you wish to attend in person, a limited number of computer terminals will be available on the date of the tax sale on the third floor of the Ferd H. Block Building, located at 200 West 2nd Street in Thibodaux. These computer terminals will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. An LPSO representative will be on hand to answer any questions and direct you to a computer terminal.
A tax title sale is the sale of properties that have delinquent taxes due. The tax titles for these properties are sold to the public for the amount of the delinquent taxes due, plus any accrued interest, penalties, costs, and other statutory impositions. The tax title sale is a “low bid wins” style auction in which the property is sold to the purchaser willing to bid on the least percent ownership interest in the property. Winning bidders of the tax sale are expected to pay for their purchases within 72 hours of the close of the auction. Payment must be made in full, and all sales are final.
To avoid having property sold at tax sale, property owners must pay property taxes by 11:59 P.M. on August 25, 2022. Bills not paid in full by that time will result in the property being sold at the tax sale. Tax payments can be made in person at the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office Administration Office (200 Canal Boulevard, Thibodaux) or the South Lafourche Substation (102 W. 91st Street, Cut Off). Only cash, certified check, or money order will be accepted at those locations.
Tax payments can also be made online at LPSO.net/PayMyTaxes until August 15, 2022.
For additional information, property owners can call the Thibodaux office at (985) 449-4430 or the Cut Off office at (985) 632-5843.
This auction and all future tax sales can be viewed online at LPSO.net/TaxSale. Using the convenient search options, bidders can set the parameters for any property that falls within their interests and budget.
