Man Gets Eight Years for Ship Burglary

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A Larose man who authorities said burglarized an offshore supply vessel, pointed a shotgun at the ship owner and held authorities at bay for two hours was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Daniel Boudreaux, 45, pleaded guilty in Thibodaux to aggravated assault with a firearm and aggravated burglary.  He could have faced up to 10 years for the first charge and up to 30 for the second.

State District Judge Steve Miller sentenced him to eight years on each count without the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.  The sentences will run concurrently, and Boudreaux will receive credit for the year he has been in the Lafourche Parish jail.

Assistant District Attorney Ben Caillouet said prosecutors offered the plea agreement.

“After reviewing the case with his attorney and talking to the victim, we decided that, under the circumstances, eight years was sufficient,” he said.  “I think it worked out well for everybody.”

Boudreaux’s public defender, Annie Chaisson, said her client felt pleading guilty was the best option.  She declined to comment further.

According to Lafourche Sheriff Craig Webre, deputies were called out to the 500 block of Industrial Park Boulevard in Larose about 9:30 a.m. November 13, 2015.  They learned Boudreaux had a shotgun he’d found in the ship, which was docked along the Intracoastal Waterway.

Boudreaux went into the ship’s wheelhouse as deputies tried to get him to leave, Webre said in a news release the day of the incident.  The Lafourche Parish Interagency Crisis Management Unit arrived, and Boudreaux left the wheelhouse as negotiators spoke with him.

Webre said about 11:30 a.m., Boudreaux fired one round into the air and tried to run, but deputies shot him in the arm with rubber bullets and arrested him.

Boudreaux said in court Friday that he doesn’t remember pointing a gun at anyone.

Gretna forensic psychologist Rafael Salcedo said in letters to the judge that he reviewed Boudreaux’s medical records, examined him in September and confirmed he had been on suicide watch at the jail.  Boudreaux reported experiencing visual and auditory hallucinations and said he was in special education classes in school.

Miller signed off in October for Boudreaux to receive treatment at the Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System in Jackson.  He was eventually found competent to proceed and released in December.

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Source: Houma Today