Former WPSO jail employee charged with malfeasance after sexual incident with inmate

Bobby Riggs, who is said to be a residence of the Pine area and worked as a deputy at the Washington Parish Jail in recent days, has been charged with malfeasance of office in connection with sexual encounter with an inmate.

Sheriff Robert Crowe

Sheriff Robert Crowe confirmed the incident with wpnewsblog as he prepared to attend a campaign event in Bogalusa.

Crowe said it was his understanding that Riggs had given previously given his two weeks' notice and that the incident occurred on Sunday, his final day of employment.

Crowe said Riggs joined the sheriff's office after being laid off at Rayburn Correctional Center in Angie.

"When we took office, we said we expected our personnel to rise to a higher standard," Crowe explained. "I think we had something happen like this the first six months I was in office and we made the arrest and filed charges then, just like we did now."

If convicted of the charge, a state prison felony, Riggs could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and fined up to $10,000.

Wpnewsblog learned of the incident about 1:40 Tuesday afternoon.

(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)
(Reader news tip story)

Suspects in 2010 shooting of deputy to be tried separately

There will be four separate trials in regards to an Aug. 16, 2010 incident in which a Washington Parish deputy sheriff was shot and a week-long manhunt for one of the suspects ensued.

Timothy Alford

Timothy Alford, Wade Esteve, Timothy Esteve and Josef Hughes all had pre-trial hearings this past week. Rick Wood of the 22^nd Judicial District Attorney’s office, said the four defendants were severed and that none pled guilty.

Wood said as a result, it is not known which of the four defendants will go on trial on Monday, Aug. 29.

       (Alford has extensive criminal history, see second story)

Alford, who has an extensive criminal history, was charged with attempted first degree murder of a police officer, aggravated obstruction of commerce/roadway, burglary of a business, two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of simple burglary.

Wade Esteve

Wade Esteve, believed by authorities to have fired at least one round at Pajak, was charged with one count of attempted murder of a police officer. Timothy Esteve and Hughes received lesser charges.

The four are suspected of robbing two Bogalusa used car dealerships — Small Town Motors on Highway 21 and Mill Town Motors on Avenue F — and a residence before they came in contact with Deputy Paul Pajak. About 4 a.m. that morning, Pajak came up on a pickup stopped on Louisiana 60 with its hood up.

Pajak stopped, thinking it was a motorist needing help, stopped. As Pajak approached the vehicle, it drove off with Alford and both of the Esteves in it — leaving Hughes behind.

As Pajak pursued the vehicle, he was fired upon and struck by shot from a shotgun blast. Despite having been hit in the face and a hand, Pajak was able to shoot out one of the tires on the suspect’s vehicle, causing it to crash into a tree.

Assisting officers had taken Hughes into custody and would soon capture the Esteve brothers, but Alford escaped.

Sightings were reported from around the Plainview community throughout the week, yet law enforcement could not locate him despite enlisting the help of tracking dogs and a helicopter.

While the search continued in Washington Parish, law enforcement officers in Hattiesburg, Miss. nabbed Alford during a traffic stop at about 1 a.m. on Aug. 23 and he was subsequently returned to Washington Parish.

WPSO web site looks to be down for some time

The web site for the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office went down sometime last weekend and will remain down for "maybe two weeks," according to the office's telephone receptionist.

"They're adding some stuff and have it down for that," she told wpnewsblog after checking to see what was going on.

She said she hadn't received any other calls about the site and didn't know it was down until she attempted to log on and received a set-up screen from Parallels H-Sphere.

"They said it will be down a while ... probably two weeks."

(Reader news tip story: Kathleen Flick)

St. Tammany checkpoints result in 4 DWI arrests

BUSH — There was one arrest for DWI and another for possession of a schedule II narcotic during a sobriety checkpoint operation between 12:15 and 2:34 a.m. Sunday morning at the intersection of Louisiana 21 and Louisiana 40 at the Fifth Ward School.

Officers of the Louisiana State Police (LSP) Troop L and St. Tammanay Parish Sheriff's Office operated the checkpoint, as well as another on Highway 41, just north of the intersection with Highway 36 near Pearl River.

In the Bush operation, officers screened 101 vehicles and performed three field sobriety checks.

Near Pearl River, officers screened 147 vehicles, performed five field sobriety tests and arrested three for DWI. Additionally, one driver was charged with possession of marijuana.

The Pearl River operation lasted from 8:15 until 11:55 p.m..

On Friday, troopers working with the Bogalusa Police Department screened 270 vehicles, charged three drivers with DWI and issued a summons to a fourth for what was described as a small amount of marijuana. 

WPSO responds to call about body found in Angie

ANGIE — Deputies from the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office responded to a report about a body found on Mill Street, west of the Post Office here, about noon Monday.

Three of the four units that responded to a
report of a dead body at this residence in
Angie on Monday. The van was parked
at the residence. (Photo by John H. Walker)

wpnewsblog confirmed that a body was found in a residence, almost hidden from view from the street by undergrowth and trees, about 75 feet off Mill Street. The cause of death appeared to be natural.

A unit from Northshore Ambulance Service was leaving the scene about 12:20 p.m.

No additional information was immediately available.

(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)
(Reader news tip story)

Sobriety checkpoints under way in Washington Parish

Since 9 p.m. tonight, members of the Louisiana State Police, with assistance from the Bogalusa Police, Franklinton Police and Washington Parish Sheriff's Office, have been conducting sobriety checkpoints.

Trooper Nick Manale of Troop L said, "Every year on the highways across the state of Louisiana, numerous people are killed or injured by impaired drivers. Sobriety checkpoints are an effective enforcement tool serving as a deterrent to impaired and drunken driving."


On Tuesday, 25-year-old Mitchell Wayne Polkey of Bogalusa was indicted for vehicular homicide in connection with the May 5 death of 84-year-old Carl Edward Harrell. According to reports from the Mandeville Police Department, Polkey was driving on the U.S. 190 Service Road near Banner Ford when he lost control. The vehicle left the roadway and hit a tree.


At the time, Polkey was arrested on multiple charges — including a second-offense DWI.


"The task of stopping these impaired drivers is a joint effort of law enforcement agencies and the public," Manale added. "By never allowing an impaired driver to get behind the wheel of a vehicle and reporting dangerous drivers to law enforcement, the public can play an important role in the reduction of crashes caused by impaired drivers."


If you see someone you suspect is driving impaired, call the Louisiana State Police by dialing *577 on your cell phone.

Sheriff issues warnings about Bogue Chitto; 3 drownings averted with Memorial Day rescue

Describing it as a "nice, little river," Washington Parish Sheriff Robert Crowe, was quick to point out it could also be a dangerous river to those not familiar with its nuances.

Sheriff Robert Crowe advises tubers with
limited swimming ability to tie themselves
to their tubes for an extra protective measure.

Crowe's warning came just a day after a weekend when two adults drowned in separate incidents on the stream, which from the shore, looks to be a lazy river.

"It still has a little undertow effect to it and it is mostly the locals who know the river and where to swim and where not to swim," he said.

On Saturday, 21-year-old Kirk Craig, Jr. of New Orleans became the first drowning victim of the summer tubing season when he got in trouble while trying to save a youngster in trouble. Craig was reportedly part of a tubing party leaving out from Wayne's World, located 3.5 miles south of Enon on Hunt Road.

Divers from the Sheriff's Office recovered Craig's body Sunday morning.

Then, about 6 p.m. inside Bogue Chitto State Park, 31-year-old Reginald Burris of Franklinton drowned while swimming with one of his children. Witnesses said it appeared Burris got in trouble, went under the surface and never resurfaced.

Crowe said, "If they're tubing and they have any problems with swimming, I would recommend that they tie the tube to them; if they're canoeing I would wear some type of flotation device."

The drownings are the first of the season, although tragedy was narrowly averted on Memorial Day weekend when a woman and her two young children — an infant and a toddler — nearly drowned in a pool of deep water inside the state park.

On Memorial Day, Slidell resident Drew Badeaux heard a faint cry for help, then saw a young woman with her two children in trouble in the water.

Badeaux told Sheila Stroup of the Times-Picayune he heard the woman say, “Help. Save my babies. I’m drowning.”

“It was very faint, almost like a whisper,” he said.

Badeaux said he had taken Red Cross water safety and, because the water where he had been with his son was placid, he thought he would be able to help the woman to safety without much difficulty.

“I was going to do it by the book, and I told her, ‘Don’t worry. I’ve got you,’ but the current said, ‘That ain’t going to happen,’” Badeaux told Stroup. “In a pool, it’s just a whole different scenario.”

Before all was said and done, a friend of the woman's who had come into the water to try and help, was in trouble and Badeauix, who had gotten the one child to the beach, was tiring as he went back after the woman and her older child.

When all was said and done, Badeaux's brother-in-law, David Constance, had joined the rescue as had several strangers. Everyone was safe, but easily, three or more could have died.

Like Sheriff Crowe, Badeaux says there are some basic things a person needs to know if they are going to be around the water — how deep it is, whether there’s a current, and to make sure children are wearing floaties or life jackets or swim vests if they aren’t proficient swimmers.