Internal investigation clears Houma Police officers in fatal shooting during standoff
Miguel Nevarez, 36, of Houma, was shot and killed by police during a standoff Oct. 13.
According to an internal investigation report filed Nov. 30, Officers Corey Duplantis, Sidney Theriot, Walter Tenney, Derek Schlesinger and John Bolgiano did not violate department policy when they used deadly force on the armed and barricaded suspect. Investigators found there was “sufficient evidence which indicates that the act or incident did occur, but the actions were justified, lawful and proper.”
Police responded around 9 p.m. to a report of shots fired on the 300 block of Polk Street in Houma. Officers learned that a man was randomly firing a weapon, police said. When officers arrived, the suspect, later identified as Nevarez, barricaded himself in a vehicle.
1. COVID-19 pandemic
The global coronavirus pandemic hit Terrebonne Parish in March, wreaking havoc on every facet of life. By year s end, the parish had recorded more than 5,900 COVID-19 infections and 148 deaths.
State orders aimed at curbing the virus s spread restricted business and social activity. Orders mandated face masks for anyone in public and encouraged residents to stay at least six feet away from others and wash their hands regularly. Schools offered a mix of online-only and in-person classes and limited class sizes on campus.
Houma-Thibodaux lost 5,800 jobs in April, the first full month of the state’s COVID stay-at-home order. Business closures and layoffs helped elevate the area’s unemployment rate to 12.3%, its highest since the late-1980s oil bust. The area regained most of those jobs by year s end, but the November total was still down 2,000 from a year earlier. Long lines became common at area food banks.
There may be a Mardi Gras of sorts in 2021 after all.
Some of the krewes, as well as Terrebonne Parish President Gordy Dove, say they re hoping the vaccines now being rolled out for COVID-19 will reduce the number of people affected by the coronavirus to be able to stage the large events in the late spring or early summer.
In a letter to Terrebonne s carnival krewes dated Dec. 16, Dove announced that the parades in Terrebonne would be postponed.
Mike LaRussa, captain of the 750-member Krewe of Hercules in Houma, said that his krewe, the largest in Terrebonne, is hoping to stage its parade later in the spring if at all possible.
A suspect has been indicted in the killing of a Houma man 22 years ago.
A Terrebonne Parish grand jury found enough evidence last week to charge Stanley Briggs Jr., 47, with second-degree murder, prosecutors said.
He is accused of killing Shannon Harris, who disappeared Oct. 10, 1998, after stopping by his mother’s house in Houma earlier in the day. Police said he was last seen on his way to board a Greyhound bus.
Forensics teams, cadaver dogs and thermal-imaging equipment were used to search for Harris during the following weeks, but he was never found.
A possible break in the case occurred in September after police responded to a medical emergency call on Stovall Street, Houma Police Chief Dana Coleman said.
âThis is the tip of the iceberg,â says Terrebonne Sheriff following 8 arrests of âBag Chasinâ Babiesâ gang members
Terrebonne Parish Sheriff arrested people connected to violent gang By Rilwan Balogun | December 10, 2020 at 3:48 PM CST - Updated December 11 at 7:17 AM
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Tim Soignet announces the arrests of eight people connected to what he calls a gang.
In a press briefing, the sheriff sends a warning to would-be criminals, âif youâre going to start committing crimes out here, we ainât tolerating it.â
The age of the eight ranges from 17 to 22.
âThese guys are not new to the game, theyâre young but theyâre not new,â Soignet said.