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A 28-year-old man had a blood alcohol content over twice the legal limit after Morgan City police stopped the vehicle he was driving recklessly, Police Chief James Blair said in a news release.

—Santos Rivera, 28, of Everett Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 11:39 p.m. Sunday on charges of DWI second offense, reckless operation of a vehicle, no driver’s license and warrants charging him with failure to appear for arraignment for DWI first offense, improper lane usage, no driver’s license, improper turning and possession of alcohol beverage in a motor vehicle.

Officers were called to the Everett Street area about a reckless driver. Officers were speaking with a witness when they observed the vehicle come back to the area and nearly lose control after accelerating in an unsafe manner, Blair said.

Police stopped the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Rivera. Officers believed that Rivera was intoxicated, and he failed a field sobriety test, Blair said. Rivera registered 0.216 grams-percent blood alcohol content on a chemical test. Rivera also did not have a valid driver’s license and had city court warrants for his arrest. Rivera was jailed.

Blair reported that officers responded to 102 calls and reported the following arrests:

—Francisco Garces, 29, of La. 70 in Morgan City, was arrested at 7 p.m. Friday on warrants charging him with failure to appear for trial in city court for no tail lights, switched license plate and driving under suspension.

Garces was arrested at the police department and booked on warrants. Garces was jailed.

—Colby Nicholas, 18, of Wren Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 7 p.m. Friday on warrants charging him with failure to appear to pay a fine for remaining after being forbidden, failure to appear for arraignment for improper lane use, improper lighting and no driver’s license.

Nicholas was arrested at the police department on city court warrants. Nicholas was jailed.

—Miles Morgan, 31, of Front Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 8:06 p.m. Saturday on a warrant charging him with criminal mischief and a 16th Judicial District Court warrant charging him with failure to appear for criminal neglect of family.

Morgan was located at his home by officers who knew of warrants for his arrest. Morgan was jailed.

—Alexander Cardona-Rodriguez, 25, of Levee Road in Morgan City, was arrested at 9:51 p.m. Saturday on charges of hit-and-run, no driver’s license and reckless operation of a vehicle.

Officers were called to a hit-and-run crash on Sixth Street in Morgan City. One of the witnesses to the crash followed the suspect, who had left the scene, to an address on Levee Road and waited for officers.

Police learned that the suspect, Cardona-Rodriguez, hit a vehicle and after hitting the vehicle backed up and struck the vehicle a second time, Blair said. Officers located Cardona-Rodriguez, who had no valid driver’s license, and arrested him, Blair said. Cardona-Rodriguez was jailed.

—William Broussard, 30, of Idaho Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 11:17 p.m. Saturday on a warrant charging him with failure to appear to pay fine for careless operation.

Broussard was located in the area of La. 182 by officers who learned of the warrant from city court. Broussard was jailed.

—Darius Brown, 40, of Clements Street in Patterson, was arrested at 3:31 a.m. Monday on a city court warrant charging him with failure to appear to pay a probation fee.

Officers were called to Teche Regional Medical Center to remove a person from the property. Officers spoke with that subject, identified as Brown. Officers learned that Brown had outstanding warrants from city court. Brown was jailed.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Scott Anslum reported that deputies responded to 107 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests in east St. Mary Parish:

—Kaleb Fluke, 17, of Coushatta Road in Charenton, was arrested at 8:07 a.m. Friday on a charge of careless operation.

A deputy monitoring traffic on U.S. 90 east of the Calumet cut observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Fluke. Fluke was arrested and released on a summons to appear in court Jan. 30, 2019.

—Shawn Ramagos, 29, of Ciro Street in Siracusa, was arrested at 12:07 p.m. Friday on charges of battery on a police officer, resisting a police officer with force or violence and on two warrants for failure to appear on charges of obstruction of justice by tampering with evidence, resisting a police officer with force or violence, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal neglect of family.

A deputy investigating a theft complaint went to a home on Ciro Street and made contact with Ramagos. During the investigation, the deputy learned of active warrants for Ramagos ’ arrest.

When the deputy advised Ramagos of the active warrants, Ramagos pushed the deputy and fled on foot, Anslum said. Ramagos was apprehended moments later by two other deputies that were arriving on scene. Ramagos was jailed with bail set at $105,185.31.

—Ben Joseph, 36, of North 10th Street in Thibodaux, was arrested at 8:55 p.m. Friday on a charge of driving under suspension.

A deputy patrolling Amelia observed a vehicle with a headlamp out. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Joseph. During the stop, the deputy learned that Joseph’s license was suspended. Joseph was arrested and released on a summons to appear in court Jan. 30, 2019.

—Clarence Keys Jr., 55, of Taft Street in Patterson, was arrested at 12:01 a.m. Saturday on charges of DWI and improper lane usage.

Deputies patrolling Bayou Vista were assisting another deputy with a single vehicle crash on U.S. 90 when they made contact with the driver, Keys. The deputies smelled a strong odor of alcoholic beverage coming from Keys, the sheriff said.

Keys performed poorly on a field sobriety test and registered 0.115 grams-percent blood alcohol content on a chemical test. Keys was booked into St. Mary Parish jail and then released on $2,500 bail.

—Elliot Richards, 19, of Lanaranja Lane in Austin, Texas, was arrested at 2:07 a.m. Saturday on charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Deputies traveling on U.S. 90 observed a vehicle cross over the centerline and the fog line. The deputies conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Richards. During the stop, marijuana and drug paraphernalia were found, Anslum said. Richards was released on a summons to appear in court Jan. 30, 2019.

—Gayle Robinson III, 40, of La. 182 in Patterson, was arrested at 4:49 a.m. Saturday on a warrant for failure to appear on charges of direct contempt, obedience to officers and traffic signs, operating with an expired driver’s license and failure to honor a written promise to appear.

Deputies patrolling the area of Patterson observed a vehicle with no operational license plate light. The deputies conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Robinson.

During the stop, the deputies learned of an active warrant for Robinson’s arrest. Robinson was booked into jail and then released on $365 bail.

—Austin Burgess, 18, of Home Lane in Berwick, was arrested at 6:38 p.m. Saturday on a charge of minor in possession of alcoholic beverage.

Deputies patrolling Bayou Vista responded to assist another deputy with a traffic stop at a local business. Upon arrival, the deputies made contact with several occupants of the vehicle, which had an open container of beer.

One of the occupants claimed the beer as his and was identified as Burgess, the sheriff said. The deputies learned through the stop that Burgess was under the legal age and was arrested. Burgess was released on a summons to appear in court Jan. 30, 2019.

—Claudia Domingo, 24, of Jamie Circle in Morgan City, was arrested at 9:15 p.m. Saturday on charges of reckless operation and driver must be licensed.

Deputies patrolling Amelia observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on U.S. 90. The deputies conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Domingo. Through the stop, the deputies learned that Domingo didn’t have a driver’s license, Anslum said. Domingo was jailed with no bail set.

—Corey Percle, 38, of La. 182 in Morgan City, was arrested at 12:41 a.m. Sunday on charges of no insurance, driving under suspension and turning movements and required signals.

A deputy patrolling Amelia observed a vehicle fail to use its turn signal. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Percle. Through the stop, the deputy learned that Percle had no driver’s license or insurance on the vehicle, Anslum said. Percle was released on a summons to appear in court Jan. 30, 2019.

—Toby Stewart, 22, of Yetta Avenue in Harvey, was arrested at 3:18 p.m. Sunday on charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Deputies patrolling the area of Patterson observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed. The deputies conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver and a passenger, Stewart.

The deputies smelled an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Through the investigation, marijuana and drug paraphernalia belonging to Stewart were located, Anslum said. Stewart was booked into jail and then released on $2,500 bail.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported the following arrests:

—Christina Pitre, 39, of Francis Street in Berwick, was arrested at 7:35 a.m. Friday on charges of careless operation with a crash, hit-and-run driving, operating a vehicle while intoxicated-child endangerment and driving under suspension. She was transported to St. Mary Parish jail.

—Kevin Sykes, 28, of Grand Bay, Alabama, was arrested at 1:24 a.m. Monday on charges of speeding and driving under suspension. He posted $427 cash bail.

Patterson Police Chief Janis Merritt reported the following arrest:

—Keith Tillman Jr., 22, of Veterans Boulevard in Patterson, was arrested at 1:26 p.m. Sunday on charges of unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling and criminal damage to property. No bail was set.

Our politics has become something like one of those reality TV arena combat shows: lots of fighting, but there’s nothing real about it.
That’s why it was nice, maybe inspiring even, to watch Tuesday’s Patterson City Council meeting.
The meeting was mostly about the tasks that fall to a small-town council — planning $385,000 worth of street overlays, providing access to a cemetery, naming a new housing authority board member, and hearing a complaint about cane trucks.
But at one point, the mayor and the council members, and two others who were recently elected to offices they’ve yet to assume, paused to thank voters and congratulate one another on their Nov. 6 victories.
All four council incumbents who sought re-election and Mayor Rodney Grogan were re-elected. That may reflect the fact that, even after an economic downturn dominated the entire four-year term now ending, things seem to be going pretty well in Patterson.
A new water plant is going online, and it may become an example to imitate for other cities that want to provide water with a reduced need for chemical treatment. Morey Park, the centerpiece for events like this weekend’s Christmas tree lighting, is getting improvements worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Most of the recent friction in the city government came from disputes of one kind or another between Grogan and former Police Chief Patrick LaSalle. Without assigning merit or blame, you’d have to say that LaSalle’s resignation last spring took those troubles out of the picture.
Police Chief-elect Garrett Grogan told the council Tuesday that being chief fulfills a boyhood dream.
Lee Condolle, who won the only open seat on the council this year, joined Chief-elect Grogan in thanking voters.
A couple of things are worth noting.
One is that Patterson continues to elect its council at large rather than from individual districts. The at-large method hasn’t been popular in political entities with a substantial minority population at least since the 1965 Voting Rights Act was enacted. The idea is that at-large voting disenfranchises minorities.
As of the 2010 Census, Patterson was 52 percent white and 44 percent black.
Also, Condolle, a pastor, is African American. His election means that come January, three of the five council members will be black. This may be the first public acknowledgement of that fact that you’ve seen.
Up the road in St. Martinville, redistricting was stalled for years leading up to the 2000 Census by the prospect that demographic changes would result in a black-majority council. The councilwoman in what would become the swing district was convicted by federal authorities of falsifying voter registrations in 2002.
Nothing like that happened in Patterson in 2018. When people come to look at the water plant, maybe they’ll find a different kind of example, too.
They certainly would have seen an example of warm regard Tuesday. The mayor and council members John Rentrop, Joe Russo, Travis Darnell and Sandra K. Turner each took a turn praising the one council member who won’t be back next year: Larry Mendoza.
Mendoza chose not to qualify for re-election after winning six four-year terms on the council.
Mendoza has a constant smile and a dry humor. While Mayor Grogan holds the gavel, a motion from Mendoza is usually the signal that the time for discussion is over, and it’s time to do something.
“You understand what a councilman should be,” Darnell told Mendoza on Tuesday night.
Russo called Mendoza “not just a great council member and a strong voice, but a great person.”
“He’s been more than a consultant, a leader, a councilman,” the mayor said. “He’s been like a dad to me.”
Mendoza feigned discomfort at the way the compliments were starting to sound like a eulogy.
“I’m going to be here next month, Mayor,” Mendoza said.
Bill Decker is managing editor of The Daily Review.

CHRISTMAS
In Morey Park presented by city of Patterson on Dec. 15. Lighted boat parade at 6 p.m. offers prizes for first, $300; second, $200, third, $100. Boat entry fee is $25. Movie in the park, “Elf,” follows at 7 p.m. Concessions sold. For info call 985-395-5205.