Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office

Sheriff Craig Webre announced the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office has been accepted into the Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE) Project. The ABLE Project is Georgetown University Law Center’s national training and support initiative for U.S. law enforcement agencies committed to building a culture of peer intervention that prevents harm.

By demonstrating the agency’s commitment to transformational reform, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office joins a select group of approximately 60 other law enforcement agencies and statewide and regional training academies chosen to participate in the ABLE Project’s national rollout. To date, hundreds of agencies across the country have expressed interest in participating.

ABLE gives officers the tools they need to overcome the innate and powerful inhibitors all individuals face when called upon to intervene in actions taken by their peers. Backed by prominent civil rights and law enforcement leaders, the evidence-based, field-tested ABLE Project was developed by Georgetown Law’s Innovative Policing Program in collaboration with global law firm Sheppard Mullin LLP to provide practical active bystandership strategies and tactics to law enforcement officers to prevent misconduct, reduce officer mistakes, and promote health and wellness.

Sheriff Webre said seeking inclusion to join the ABLE Project reflected important priorities of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office.

“As Sheriff, it is my responsibility to ensure our deputies are maintaining the highest possible levels of professional service and using proven best practices in all areas,” said Sheriff Webre. “As a nationally accredited law enforcement agency, we have policies for deputies to intervene when they witness inappropriate actions by another deputy. By participating in the ABLE project, we will take that a step further by providing intervention training to all current deputies and to any new recruits who join our agency.”

Those backing the sheriff’s office application to join the program included Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson III, Burnell Tolbert of the Lafourche Chapter of the NAACP, and Bishop Herbert K. Andrew of Beacon Light Baptist Church of Houma. Each wrote letters in support of LPSO’s participation in the project.

“As a former reserve deputy with the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, I can attest first-hand that this agency is committed to excellence at every level,” said Parish President Chaisson. “Their proactive approach to policing and awareness of the needs of our community is what helps them maintain a positive rapport with our citizens.”

Professor Christy Lopez, co-director of Georgetown Law’s Innovative Policing Program, which runs ABLE, explained: “The ABLE Project seeks to ensure every police officer in the United States has the opportunity to receive meaningful, effective active bystandership training, and to help agencies transform their approach to policing by building a culture that supports and sustains successful peer intervention to prevent harm.”

Chair of the ABLE Project Board of Advisors, Sheppard Mullin partner Jonathan Aronie, added: “Intervening in another’s action is harder than it looks after the fact, but it’s a skill we all can learn. And, frankly, it’s a skill we all need – police and non-police. ABLE teaches that skill.”

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ABOUT THE ABLE PROJECT:
The ABLE Project is guided by a Board of Advisors comprised of civil rights, social justice, and law enforcement leaders, including Vanita Gupta, the president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; Commissioner Danielle Outlaw of the Philadelphia Police Department; Dr. Ervin Staub, professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the founder of the Psychology of Peace and Justice Program; and an impressive collection of other police leaders, rank and file officers, and social justice leaders.

The ABLE Project Train-The-Trainer event begins in December.  By the end of the month, LPSO instructors will be certified as ABLE trainers. Over the coming months, all LPSO deputies will receive eight hours of evidence-based active bystandership education designed not only to prevent harm, but to change the culture of policing.

For more information on the ABLE Project, visit the program’s website.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced a reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for burglarizing several mini-storage units in Thibodaux.

On the morning of November 18, 2020, deputies and detectives responded to a call of several storage units having been burglarized at two mini-storage facilities on LA Highway 3185 in Thibodaux. A total of 28 storage units were found to have been burglarized. The extent of property stolen remains under investigation, but at least two off-road motorcycles (“dirt bikes”) and one generator were reported stolen during the burglaries.

Anyone with any 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 to Crime Stoppers through the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office mobile app. Tipsters could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 in cash if the information leads to an arrest.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced one man has been arrested and another is being sought for six counts of attempted murder in reference to a shooting in Thibodaux last week. Willie Williams, 27, of Thibodaux was arrested on Tuesday. Investigators are still searching for Jacob Scott, 25, also of Thibodaux. There were no injuries in the shooting.

At around 9:40 a.m. on November 13, 2020, deputies and detectives responded to a report of shots fired on Carol Street in Thibodaux. Detectives learned a man, two women, and three children were traveling on Carol Street in Thibodaux when they saw a pickup truck on the street. As they approached the truck, one armed man emerged from the bed of the truck, and another from the cab. The two men began shooting at the vehicle with the six occupants. The male victim in the vehicle returned fire, and the other two shooters then left the area. No one was struck during the incident and no injuries were reported.

Through investigation, detectives identified the shooters as Willie Williams and Jacob Scott. They learned Williams had an ongoing feud with the male victim over a woman. Following the investigation, detectives obtained arrest warrants for Williams and Scott.

On Wednesday, November 18, detectives made contact with Williams. He was arrested and booked into the Lafourche Parish Correctional Complex on six counts of Attempted Second Degree Murder. Bail is set at $250,000.

Investigators are searching for Jacob Scott. Anyone with any information on his whereabouts 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 to Crime Stoppers through the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office mobile app. Tipsters could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 in cash if the information leads to an arrest.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced the arrest of a Bayou Blue man wanted for cashing fraudulent checks and other similar crimes in the parishes of Lafourche and Terrebonne. Michael Doren Jr., 39, also faces charges gun and drug charges following a search of his home at the time of his arrest.

The investigation into Doren began in October 2020, and deputies recently acquired a warrant in reference to Doren cashing a fraudulent check at a local bank. They also obtained a search warrant for his home as part of the investigation.

On Tuesday, November 17, detectives made contact with Doren at his home in Bayou Blue. During a search of the residence, detectives found fraudulent checks, methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, one pistol and one rifle. During questioning, Doren admitted to cashing fraudulent checks.

Doren was transported to the Lafourche Parish Correctional Complex in Thibodaux. He was charged in Lafourche Parish with Monetary Instrument Abuse, Illegal Carrying of a Weapon in the Presence of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Bail on those charges is set at $21,300. He was also booked on the outstanding warrants for Terrebonne Parish for four counts of Monetary Instrument Abuse and one count of Bank Fraud. Bail for the Terrebonne charges is set at $80,000.

The investigation into Doren is continuing.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced a man has been arrested for extortion involving a female teenage victim. Trey Verdin, 22, of Bourg was arrested on Friday.

Juvenile detectives began investigating Verdin last month after learning Verdin had sent threatening messages to a teenage girl via social media. Detectives learned Verdin and the girl had exchanged messages for some time during the past year. Recently, he sent messages to the girl requesting sexual intercourse. When the girl refused, Verdin responded by making several violent threats to the girl. Following an investigation,  a warrant was obtained for Verdin’s arrest.

On November 13, 2020, detectives made contact with Verdin at his home and he was arrested. He was booked into the Lafourche Parish Correctional Complex on one count of Extortion. Bail is set at $10,000.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced a reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in an investigation into a theft at a hardware store.

Last week, deputies were called to investigate an incident of shoplifting that occurred last month. The theft was recently discovered while the store manager was reviewing surveillance video. On October 16, 2020, a man walked into the store and stole circuit breakers. Seven breakers were found to be missing with a total value of several hundred dollars. The man then exited the store without paying for the items. He then drove away in a dark-colored car with a rusted roof.

Anyone who can identify this man or anyone with any other 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 to Crime Stoppers through the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office mobile app. Tipsters could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 in cash if the information leads to an arrest.