'Rodie' Sanchez, star of 'Killing Fields,' arrested on assault charge

A Franklin resident who made a name as a real-life lawman and then again on TV has been arrested on an aggravated assault charge, according to St. Mary Parish arrest rec-ords.

—Rhodes “Rodie” Sanchez, 65, Ricohoc Drive, Franklin, was arrested at 9:38 a.m. Wednesday on a charge of aggravated assault with a firearm.

The warrant stems from an incident on Oct. 20, when Sanchez, the subject of Discovery’s “Killing Fields” series, allegedly brandished a firearm and pointed it at the victim during an argument.

Sanchez turned himself in and was arrested on the warrant, booked into the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center, and subsequently released on a $2,500 bond.

According to a biography from Discovery, Sanchez worked for 32 years with the Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office.

“Rodie is an old school, flat foot detective trying to fit in the new high tech world of modern policing. He prefers getting information by word of mouth rather than through a smartphone,” the bio says.

“He came out of retirement to fulfill a broken promise he made to the mother of Eugenie Boisfontaine 18 years ago. He is determined to find the person responsible for killing her daughter.”

The information notes that when not fighting crime, Sanchez enjoys taking care of his chickens, miniature goats, ponies and donkeys on his property and joy-rides in a classic Dodge Charger.

In January, Crimecruise announced that Sanchez would be taking part in its 2020 cruise, although the event has been put off until October 2021 because of COVID-19, the cruise website says.