BAYOU CRIME

Murder charges dropped against Golden Meadow man

A 25-year-old man was released from custody by the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office on Friday and the murder charges he faced were dropped.

Cameron Sands was released by authorities yesterday after an investigation yielded that he had no involvement in the death of 64-year-old Wayne Matherne.

Sands was arrested on Nov. 6, 2016 and charged with second-degree murder.

The investigation started on Nov. 4, 2016, when a meal-delivery worker arrived at Matherne’s residence and found him unresponsive. Emergency workers were called to the scene and Matherne was later pronounced dead. His body had severe head trauma.

Authorities later questioned Sands, and he confessed to a role in the killing, which led to his arrest.

A day later, authorities investigated the murder of 78-year-old Stanley Gisclair, and in that investigation, authorities developed Dayton Duet, 20, as a suspect.

During questioning, Duet allegedly confessed to killing both Gisclair and Matherne.

As the investigation continued, authorities were able to prove that Sands was not involved in Matherne’s murder, which negated his confession.

They found no physical evidence, nor any evidence at all to support his being at the crime scenes during the incidents.

So this week, authorities dropped the charges against Sands and released him from the Lafourche Parish Detention Center.

Duet remains in jail on second-degree murder charges in Matherne’s death and first-degree murder charges in Gisclair’s death.

Suspect arrested after allegedly pulling gun on woman, daughter

A 37-year-old Houma woman is in custody after she allegedly pulled a gun on a woman and her daughter following an altercation.

On Jan. 12, Houma Police Officers were called to Alcock Street in reference to a disturbance with a gun.

Once on the scene, authorities spoke to a victim who alleged that Deetra Smith, 37, of Holiday Drive, came to the residence with a gun and threatened her family.

The victim said that the threats were made because the victim’s daughter had gotten into an altercation with the suspect’s daughter earlier in the day.

As the investigation continued, HPD said it learned that Smith retrieved a small, semi-automatic pistol from her car and pointed it at the victim and her daughter, threatening to shoot both.

She then left the area, but when authorities came to the scene, she was located at her residence on Holiday Drive. Smith was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm.

Jailed suspect given additional charges

A Houma man currently in the Terrebonne Parish Jail is now wanted for crimes he allegedly committed in Lafourche.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said yesterday that Talon Collins, 20, of Houma, now faces charges in his parish following an incident on Dec. 20, 2016.

On that date, Houma Police responded to a report of a rape and discovered that Collins allegedly forced a male victim to have sex with him.

He was taken into custody after the incident on Dec. 21.

Through further investigations, Lafourche detectives discovered that Collins also allegedly had sexual relations with a male relative at his house in Lafourche.

Following that investigation, a search warrant was obtained in Lafourche for felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

Collins is being held on a $200,000 bond in Terrebonne, but he also now faces the charges in Lafourche.

No bond has been set yet for the alleged incident in Lafourche.

TPSO says questions remain after autopsy of body found in Houma

An autopsy performed on the body of a deceased female has indicated no signs of trauma, according to the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office, which stated on Wednesday that toxicology reports will now be done to determine a cause of death.

On Monday evening, authorities located the body of Monique Marie White, 29, of Bourg. Her body was found at 304 Sterling Drive, in Houma.

Carpenters on the scene said they were hired to remodel the house, which had been abandoned for several months.

Once inside, they found the body, which had been partially covered and which had been badly decomposed, according to authorities.

The autopsy was conducted a day later, which yielded that the body had not been traumatized.

The investigation now continues, according to TPSO, and authorities said they will provide additional information as it becomes available.

For more police releases, please visit Bayou Crimes on Facebook. All information is based on police-issued releases. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guility in a court of law.

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