Man pleads guilty to false imprisonment charge

A 19-year-old Morgan City man was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty for his role in allegedly holding another man at gunpoint, binding him with duct tape and dragging him across the ground during a January encounter.
Damarcus McNeal, 19, pleaded guilty Thursday to the charge of false imprisonment with a dangerous weapon, Assistant District Attorney Anthony Saleme said. The remaining charges of aggravated assault with a firearm and simple battery were dismissed as part of the plea deal.
Judge Keith Comeaux sentenced McNeal to eight years at hard labor, but suspended all but 2½ years of the sentence. McNeal also received four years of probation.
McNeal’s co-defendant, Courtland Francois, 25, of Bayou Vista, still faces charges of false imprisonment with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, aggravated assault with a firearm, simple battery and simple escape.
On Jan. 12, St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report of a 911 hang-up call and possible disturbance in the 400 block of Verdun Lane in Verdunville, Sheriff Mark Hebert said in a news release. As deputies arrived in the area, they observed a man force another man into a home. A third man fled the area on foot.
Deputies ordered the two men to exit the home. Both men com-plied and were detained. One of the men was identified as Francois, who was subsequently arrested.
Continuing the investigation, detectives identified the third subject as McNeal. Evidence detectives gathered indicated that McNeal and Francois held another man at gunpoint, bound him with duct tape, and dragged him over the ground. All three men knew each other, the sheriff said.