Cruise ends with arrest

It took police two years to finally arrest Shaneal Williams on warrants for hit and run, improper backing and no driver’s license. During that time she resided on the Most Wanted list, was arrested and released by another agency on separate charges and finally was caught by Border Protection and Customs in New Orleans when she returned from a cruise.
Berwick Police Chief James Richard entered Williams, 26, of the 6300 block of Bayou Black Road in Gibson onto the Most Wanted list in September 2012.
Williams had been previously arrested April 15, 2013, by a St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s deputy on two warrants from the sheriff’s office for issuing worthless checks and released on a summons to appear in court.
The sheriff’s office checks for outstanding warrants it may have on someone when making an arrest, St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Traci Landry said in April 2013.
On April 25, Richard said Berwick police contacted the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office to attempt to locate Williams because her last known address is in Terrebonne Parish on Bayou Black Road in Gibson.
Richard said after attempting to locate Williams at her residence April 25, Williams called Berwick police twice saying she was going to turn herself in and that she was getting her $1,500 bail money. However, she did not turn herself in.
Berwick police entered Williams into the National Crime Information Center database and were notified Oct. 15 around 9 a.m. by border patrol that she had boarded a cruise ship in New Orleans returning Sunday and arrested her on the warrant when she got back to port, Richard said.
The Berwick chief said his department then contacted surrounding agencies to determine if anyone else held warrants for Williams. The St. Mary Sheriff’s Department did and Richard said they sent a deputy to retrieve her from New Orleans.
Williams was charged at 11:04 a.m. Sunday on a St. Mary Sheriff’s Department warrant for failure to appear on the charge of issuing worthless checks and on a warrant for failure to appear on the charge of operating a vehicle without proper required equipment, operating a vehicle with an inadequate windshield and failure to honor written promise to appear. Her bail was set at $5,334.50.
Once Williams was processed by the sheriff’s department, she was transported to Berwick where she finally was charged on the hit and run, improper backing and no driver’s license warrants at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.
She is being held in Morgan City awaiting transfer to Terrebonne Parish, which also holds misdemeanor warrants for her arrest, Richard said.