Amelia woman charged with domestic abuse in fight

A 41-year-old Amelia woman was booked Thursday on a domestic abuse charge after striking another woman in the head during a fight on Friendship Alley, St. Mary Parish Sheriff Mark Hebert said in a news release.
—Leslie Matthews, 41, of the 100 block of Friendship Alley in Amelia, was arrested at 1:16 p.m. Thursday on the charge of domestic abuse battery.
Deputies responded to a report of a fight on Friendship Alley. Deputies identified the subjects involved and gathered evidence that Matthews struck a woman in the head. Matthews was jailed with no bail set.
Hebert reported responding to 50 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests in east St. Mary Parish:
—Joseph Gioia, 57, of the 100 block of Marin Street in Patterson, was arrested at 1:40 p.m. Thursday on the charge of violation of the parish leash law. A deputy responding to an animal complaint learned that a cat belonging to Gioia scratched and bit a female victim while running loose in the neighborhood. Gioia was released on a summons to appear in court Aug. 29.
—Kendrick Fontenot, 34, of the 1200 block of Garber Street in Patterson, was arrested at 7:32 p.m. Thursday for failure to signal a turn, possession of open alcoholic beverages in vehicles and possession of codeine.
Narcotics division detectives patrolling the Morgan City area observed a vehicle fail to signal a turn onto Veterans Boulevard. Detectives conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Fontenot.
During the traffic stop investigation, detectives located an open bottle of liquor and a baby bottle containing liquid codeine in the car. Fontenot was jailed with no bail set.
—A juvenile male, 16, of Bayou Vista, was arrested at 9:46 p.m. Thursday on a warrant for illegal possession of stolen things.
The warrant was issued following an investigation into a complaint of the theft of an electric motorcycle from outside of a home in Bayou Vista. Working with a patrol deputy who developed information on the case, a detective positively identified Hale as a person who was in possession of the stolen item at one point during the course of events following the crime, Hebert said.
The juvenile was released to a guardian pending juvenile court proceedings. The case remains under investigation.
Morgan City Police Chief James Blair reported the following arrests:
—Chauncy C. Kinchen, 19, of Federal Avenue in Morgan City, was arrested at 10:08 p.m. Thursday on the charge of criminal damage to property.
An officer responded to an address on Federal Avenue in regard to a call of damaged property. The officer arrived and spoke with the complainant of the incident who told the officer that someone had damaged the complainant’s vehicle. During an investigation, Kinchen was developed as a suspect and was located at a home on Federal Avenue.
Kinchen admitted to damaging the vehicle, Blair said. Kinchen was jailed.
—Taylor Murphy, 21, of Green Leaf Boulevard in Morgan City, was arrested at 10:10 a.m. Thursday on a warrant for failure to appear on the charge of telephone harassment.
Murphy was transported from the Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office Detention Center to the Morgan City Police Department in regard to an active warrant. Murphy was jailed.
—Deqwavia J. Hall, 29, of Versen Street in Berwick, was arrested at 12:40 p.m. Thursday on a warrant charging her with probation violation.
Hall was transported from the Berwick Police Department Jail to the Morgan City Police Department in regard to an active warrant. Hall was jailed.
Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported no arrests.
Patterson Police Chief Patrick LaSalle reported no arrests.