Morgan City woman arrested in hit-and-run

A 32-year-old Morgan City woman was arrested Monday for fleeing the scene after allegedly hitting a parked car, Morgan City Police Chief James Blair said in a news release.

—Niki D. Freia, 32, of Laurel Street Morgan City, was arrested at 6:44 p.m. Monday on the charges of hit-and-run driving, driving under suspension, and improper backing.

An officer responded to an address on Everett Street in regard to a traffic accident. The officer arrived and spoke with the owner of a parked vehicle involved in a crash along with several witnesses to the incident.

The officer was told that a vehicle was observed backing up and striking a parked vehicle. The vehicle driven by a female subject then fled the scene.

A description of the vehicle was provided, and the vehicle was located moments later at an address on Laurel Street. During the investigation, officers identified Freia as the alleged driver of the vehicle during the accident.

A driver’s license check was conducted, revealing that Freia had a suspended license. Freia was placed under arrest and transported to the Morgan City Police Jail where she was booked and incarcerated.

Blair reported the following arrests:

—Vincent A. Thomas Jr., 22, of Fourth Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 1:42 p.m. Monday on the charges of failure to appear for resisting an officer and failure to appear for possession of drug paraphernalia.

Thomas was transported from the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office Jail to the Morgan City Police Department Jail in regard to active arrest warrants held by the 6th Ward Morgan City Court.

Thomas was booked into the Morgan City Jail and incarcerated.

—Dorian L. Hebert, 35, of Youngs Road in Morgan City, was arrested at 9:32 p.m. Monday on the charge of failure to appear for possession of marijuana.

Hebert was located by officers at a convenience store on La. 182 and was arrested on an active warrant held by the 16th Judicial District Court. Hebert was transported to the Morgan City Jail. Hebert was booked and incarcerated.

—Drew M. Duval, 18, of Maple Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 8:27 p.m. Monday on the charges of possession with the intent to distribute marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and violation of uniform controlled dangerous substance laws.

Morgan City Police Department Narcotics Detectives along with investigators with the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit observed a vehicle fail to stop at a stop sign.

A traffic stop was conducted and the driver identified as Duval. During the investigation, Duval’s behavior made investigators suspicious that Duval may be involved in illegal drug activity.

A search was conducted and investigators located suspected marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The location of the incident was within the area of a local school, which is in violation of uniform controlled dangerous substance laws.

Duval was placed under arrest and transported to the Morgan City Jail where he was booked and incarcerated.

—Debra B. Johnston, 53, of Mallard Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 11:09 p.m. Monday on the charge of disturbing the peace by intoxication.

Officers responded to an address on Mallard Street in regard to a call of a disturbance. The officers arrived and were told by witnesses that Johnston was causing a disturbance in the area.

While speaking with witnesses, the officers were approached by Johnston, who was allegedly begging in a verbally offensive way toward the officers and witnesses. Johnston was also suspected to have been drinking and appeared to be intoxicated.

Johnston was placed under arrest and transported to the Morgan City Jail where she was booked and incarcerated.

—Gable Clark, 54, of Fourth Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 3:34 a.m. today on the charge of vagrancy.

An officer responded to a local convenience store on La. 182 in regard to a call of a suspicious person in the parking lot asking for money. The officer arrived and located Clark who matched the description provided.

The officer was told by management that customers complained of Clark approaching them for money. Clark was alleged to have been involved in several similar previous incidents where Clark was warned to cease vagrancy activity.

Clark was placed under arrest and transported to the Morgan City Jail where Clark was booked and incarcerated.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Mark Hebert reported responding to 37 complaints and reported the following arrests:

—Brent Rock Jr., 26, of the 100 block of Clarke Road in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 8:20 a.m. Monday on the charges of disturbing the peace (intoxicated) and possession of marijuana.

A deputy responded to a report of a possible medical emergency in the parking lot of a business in Bayou Vista. The deputy made contact with a male subject who appeared to be sleeping inside a vehicle.

The subject, identified as Rock, refused medical treatment. While speaking with Rock, the deputy observed that he had slurred speech and had difficulty keeping his balance. The deputy also observed a small amount of marijuana inside the vehicle.

Following the investigation, Rock was released on a summons to appear in court July 25.

—Ron D. Jefferson, 36, of the 12900 block of Ashford Point Drive in Houston, Texas, was arrested at 12:28 a.m. today on the charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and improper lane usage.

A deputy patrolling the Berwick area observed a vehicle change lanes, nearly striking the patrol unit. The vehicle then swerved onto the shoulder of the roadway. The deputy conducted a traffic stop.

The vehicle continued to travel to Sixth Street in Berwick before coming to a stop. The deputy made contact with the driver, identified as Jefferson, and smelled the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person.

The deputy also observed that Jefferson was swaying where he stood. Jefferson performed poorly on a field sobriety test and later registered a 0.267 grams percent blood alcohol concentration on a breath test.

Jefferson was transported to the parish jail for booking. No bail is set.

—Garrett T. Daigle, 31, of the 100 block of Ross Lane in Morgan City, was arrested at 3:23 a.m. today on the charge of domestic abuse battery.

A deputy responding to a report of a battery in progress in Bayou Vista found a male subject with blood on his face outside a residence. The deputy identified the subject as Daigle and detained him.

During the course of the investigation, the deputy found evidence that Daigle repeatedly struck a female victim in the face. Daigle was transported to the parish jail for booking. No bail is set.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported the following arrests:

—Paul Mahfouz, 52, of Fourth Street in Berwick, was arrested at 10:35 a.m. Monday on the charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated (first offense) and improper lane usage. He was released on bail set at $1,500.

—George Griffin, 63, of Rose Street in Berwick, was arrested at 10:49 p.m. Monday on the charges of possession of alprazolam with intent to distribute, possession of hydrocodone with intent to distribute (two counts) and possession of oxycodone with intent to distribute. No bail is set.

Patterson Police Chief Patrick LaSalle reported no arrests.