RSS Feed

Morgan City police have identified the man arrested after a Leona Street standoff FridAy morning as Whitney Billiot IV.
Billiot, 42, who lives on Leona Street, has been booked on aggravated assault with a firearm, three counts of threatening a public official, terrorizing, two counts of child desertion. and unlawful use of a laser on a police officer.
Here's the narrative released by the Morgan City Police Department.
"On Thursday, October 17, 2019, at 9:01 P.M., the Morgan City Police Department responded to a possible domestic violence disturbance call on Leona Street. Upon arrival, officers encountered a male subject, later identified as Whitney Billiot IV. Billiot directed what appeared to be a firearm with a laser aiming device attached to the responding officers. Billiot also made threats towards officers. The officers attempted to talk Billiot out of the residence, but he refused to comply. Officers had reason to believe that a female and two children were inside the residence."
Billiot was arrested about 4:30 a.m. Friday. A woman and chilren who were in the home were unharmed.
"Officers were able to recover two high powered handheld lasers; however, no firearm was located," the police news release said.
The Morgan City Police Department thanked Berwick Police Department, St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office SRT, and the Louisiana State Police SWAT for their assistance.

Hanson Memorial set the tone early in Thursday’s District 8-1A contest with Central Catholic, jumping out to leads on two occasions.
But after Hanson (2-4 overall, 0-2 in district) turned the ball over with the game tied at 14 in the second quarter, the contest slowly started to slip away from the Tigers as they eventually fell 42-14.
Collin Faucheaux, who had thrown two first-half touchdown passes, the second of which went to Micah Evans at the 9:53 mark of the second period for a 14-7 Hanson advantage, was picked off by Central Catholic’s Khyre Willis later in the second quarter.
Central Catholic (3-3, 2-0) converted the interception into points on a Davidyione Bias 3-yard run with 3:32 remaining for a 21-14 lead. Central Catholic never trailed again.
“We executed pretty well early on, but after the interception, we just never could find ourselves offensively,” Hanson Memorial Coach Chris Sanders said. “We lost a little bit of confidence. We started getting a little bit hesitant, not quite as sure.”
Central Catholic Coach Tommy Minton was not happy about how his team approached the game.
“We told them all week how hard (Eugene Foulcard) ran the football,” Minton said. “We told them all week how hard that team played even though they got only 24 kids, and the thing is we have to respect the game more than that and we have to approach each game with a better frame of mind.
“I give Hanson a lot of credit,” Minton added. “They came in. They played hard. They had a good game plan, and it took us a quarter to match their intensity.”
After Central Catholic took the lead for good on Bias’ touchdown, the Eagles added another score late in the first half, moving the ball 80 yards in 10 plays after taking over with less than 1:24 remaining in the half. The drive was capped by Ryan Miller’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Grant Stansbury with 3.8 seconds remaining in the half. Adlai Urbina, who was 4-for-4 on point-after attempts, converted the extra point for a 28-14 Central Catholic lead.
“That’s the first time we’ve really had to work two-minute (offense) all year,” Minton said. “We practice it all the time, and the kids did a good job of responding to it. We worked the sidelines, got out of bounds, didn’t have to waste timeouts, and we were able to get points out of it.”
After halftime, the teams played a scoreless third quarter before Central Catholic scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns via a Bias 55-yard run with 7:09 remaining in the game and another with 2:30 remaining on Hugh Hamer’s 40-yard run. Brett Morell made extra points for Central Catholic after both touchdowns.
Hanson’s offense took a hit in the second half as its leading receiver in the game, Braden Loustalot, was not at full strength for part of the second half.
“We don’t have a ton of guys with breakaway type of speed,” Sanders said. “He’s the closest guy we have to that, and after he tweaked his ankle a little bit and wasn’t 100 percent, that really kind of narrows the scope of plays that we can call that we feel good about gaining chunks of yards.”
Loustalot caught four passes for 60 yards in the first half, but neither he nor any of the Tigers’ other receivers caught passes in the second half.
For the game, Faucheaux completed 9 of 21 passes for 90 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Central Catholic totaled 359 yards of offense (259 rushing and 100 passing), while Hanson had 139 yards of offense (49 rushing and 90 passing).
Early on, Hanson was forced to punt after three plays to begin the game. However, Central Catholic muffed the punt, and Hanson retained possession at the Eagles’ 47-yard line.
Hanson cashed in on the second chance as nine plays later, Faucheaux connected with Lawson St. Blanc on a 4-yard touchdown completion with 5:19 remaining in the first quarter. St. Blanc, who also is the Tigers’ point-after kicker, converted the attempt for a 7-0 Hanson lead.
Central Catholic responded immediately as Bias fielded the ensuing kickoff and returned it 83 yards for a touchdown, and the Eagles tied the score at 7 after Urbina’s point-after attempt.
Central Catholic recovered a Hanson fumble on the Tigers’ next drive at the Central Catholic 32, but on the next play, Bias fumbled the ball after a two-yard gain, giving it back to the Tigers. That was the lone offensive play the Eagles ran in the first quarter.
With the turnover, the Tigers again capitalized as four plays into the second quarter, Faucheaux connected with Micah Evans on a 9-yard touchdown pass. While St. Blanc missed the extra-point attempt, the Eagles were penalized on the play, and St. Blanc was allowed to rekick. He made the second attempt for a 14-7 Hanson lead with 9:53 remaining in the first half.
Central Catholic scored on its next drive when Miller connected with Nathan Hebb for a 20-yard touchdown with 6:47 remaining in the half. Urbina’s extra point tied the game at 14.

An arrest was made when Berwick officers responded to a noise complaint and found a canister with heroin and meth belonging to a Morgan City man as well as a gun under a bed, Berwick Police Chief David Leonard Sr. said in a news release.
—Christian Businelle, 22, of Versen Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 3:33 a.m. Thursday on charges of possession of a Schedule II controlled dangerous substance (methamphetamine), possession of Schedule I (heroin) and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Officers received a call concerning subjects being loud at a residence on Francis Street. Officers responded and found a door to a residence open. Officers made contact with two subjects, one being identified as Businelle. Both parties admitted to being involved in a verbal altercation prior to officer’s arrival.
During the investigation, Businelle consented to a search of his person and officers located a canister which contained a small amount of heroin and methamphetamine, Leonard said.
Businelle was placed under arrest. Officers obtained consent to search the residence and located a handgun under a bed. Through investigation it was determined that Businelle had possessed the handgun when he arrived at the residence. He was jailed with no bond set.
Leonard also reported the following arrest:
—Harold A. Sheets, 35, of Third Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 2:06 a.m. Thursday on charges of second offense possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Officers received a call indicating there were two suspicious subjects suspected of theft. The complainant stated that he confronted both subjects and they fled. Officers located one of the subjects identified as Sheets in the area and he was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia. After further investigation, officers located a small amount of marijuana on the ground where Sheets was observed walking and he admitted to the marijuana. He was jailed with no bond set.
Morgan City Police Chief James F. Blair reported that the Morgan City Police Department responded to 35 calls of service and the following arrests were made:
—Tom Nguyen, 62, of Lake Palourde Road in Morgan City, was arrested at 12:54 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of sexual battery. The warrant stems from a complaint filed with the Morgan City Police Department on Oct. 13. The Morgan City Police Department received a complaint of Nguyen having inappropriate sexual contact without the victim’s consent. During the investigation, the victim identified Nguyen as the person involved, Blair said.
Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Nguyen. On Oct. 16, Officers of the Morgan City Police Department located Nguyen on Willard Street and placed him under arrest. He was jailed.
—Mark Broussard Jr., 29, of Vivan Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 4:27 p.m. Wednesday on charges of possession of methamphetamine (less than 2 grams), and possession of drug paraphernalia. An officer on patrol observed a traffic violation and conducted a traffic stop. During the traffic stop, Broussard was identified as the front passenger. Broussard was found to be in possession of suspected methamphetamines and drug paraphernalia during the traffic stop, Blair said. Broussard was jailed.
—Wayne Anthony Singleton, 57, of Eleventh Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 7:27 p.m. Wednesday on charges of theft under $1,000 (valued at $20.89), and resisting an officer. An off duty officer working a security detail at a local business on La. 182 observed Singleton concealing merchandise while in the store. When the officer approached Singleton he fled from the officer on foot. The officer gave foot chase and was able to apprehend Singleton. He was jailed.
—Chelsea Lynn Trahan, 27, of Santin Street in Raceland, was arrested at 4:11 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of driving under suspension. An officer on patrol observed a vehicle commit a traffic violation. A traffic stop was conducted and the driver was identified as Trahan. A computer check revealed her driver’s license was under suspension. She was jailed.
St. Mary Parish Sheriff Blaise Smith advised that the Sheriff’s Office responded to 28 complaints and the following arrests were made:
—Carlven Calvin Chapman III, 43, of Louisiana Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 5:56 p.m. Wednesday on a warrant for failure to appear on the charge of domestic abuse battery. A booking deputy made contact with Chapman when he was transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center from another agency. He was jailed with no bail set.
—Brittany Renee Kirt, 30, of Prairie Road in Franklin, was arrested at 11:21 p.m. Wednesday on charges of no taillights, resisting an officer by flight, and no child restraint. A deputy was patrolling the area of U.S. 90 east near Patterson when he observed a vehicle with an inoperable taillight.
The deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop but the vehicle made turns to evade the deputy. When the vehicle stopped, the deputy made contact with the driver, Kirt, Smith said. The deputy observed a child in the vehicle that was not in a child passenger restraint system. She was jailed and released on a $2,000 bond.
—David Paul Martin, 39, of Llano Drive in Bourg, was arrested at 12:48 a.m. Thursday on charges of no taillights, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
—Lisa Ann Chaisson, 54, of Rosemary Avenue in Chauvin, was arrested at 12:48 a.m. Thursday on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, two counts of possession of a Schedule II controlled dangerous substance and possession of a Schedule IV controlled dangerous substance. A deputy was sitting stationary on U.S. 90 near Patterson when he observed a vehicle with no operable taillights. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Martin, and a passenger, Chaisson. Through the investigation, drugs and drug paraphernalia were located. Both were jailed with no bail set.
—Calab Laurance Mitchell, 23, of Chris Lane in Centerville, was arrested at 7:42 p.m. Wednesday on charges of possession of synthetic cannabinoids, introduction of contraband into a penal institute and possession of drug paraphernalia.
—Tammy Hawk Fusilier, 49, of Versen Street in Berwick, was arrested at 7:42 p.m. Wednesday on charges of following too close, improper lane usage, possession of methamphetamines and possession of drug paraphernalia. A deputy was patrolling the area of U.S.90 west near Baldwin when he observed a vehicle following another vehicle too closely, and crossing the fog line. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Fusilier, and a passenger, Mitchell. Through the investigation, drugs and drug paraphernalia were located. Both were jailed. The deputy located drug paraphernalia belonging to Mitchell in the patrol unit before leaving the Law Enforcement Center. No bail has been set.
Assumption Parish Sheriff Leland Falcon reported the following arrest:
—Chad Evans Gros, 45, of Stephensville Road in Morgan City, was arrested Sunday on a charge of theft of an automobile. Deputies were notified to contact St. Martin Parish deputies in connection to the possible theft of an automobile from a Pierre Part mechanic shop.
St. Martin Parish deputies stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation early Sunday and made contact with the driver identified as Gros. Upon the deputy requesting vehicle information, Gros advised that his truck had broken down near the repair shop in Pierre Part. Gros stated he looked into several cars and eventually found a car with the keys in it. Gros stated he took the car without permission to drive home, thus leading to the traffic stop. He was jailed with a $5,000 bond.
Patterson Police Chief Garrett Grogan reported no arrests.