LaPlace, LA (3/18/2023) – St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office (SJPSO) reported two Texas residents in a stolen vehicle were arrested on March 16, 2023, in LaPlace after a brief pursuit with police.
On March 16, 2023, at about 1 p.m., officers were notified of a stolen vehicle in the area of Belle Terre Boulevard and Madewood Drive, traveling south toward Airline Highway in LaPlace.
Upon arrival in the area, officers attempted to make a traffic stop on the vehicle. The driver, later identified as Demaurien Taylor, 21, of North Richland Hills, Texas, refused to stop. A brief pursuit followed as Taylor fled from deputies at a high rate of speed on Airline Highway. Taylor then turned north on Jacob Drive, eventually traveling off the public roadway into a pasture near the rear of Jacob Drive, where he stopped the vehicle.
Taylor and a passenger, later identified as a 15-year-old female from East Canton, Texas, exited the vehicle. Ignoring officers’ commands to stop, Taylor and the juvenile ran into the swamp east of Jacob Drive. Officers set up a perimeter along Bert and Gardenia streets to canvass the area.
Utilizing a St. John Parish Fire Department drone, SWAT officers located and then captured both subjects. The female was quickly apprehended near a canal.
“Due to Taylor’s location and the logistics of getting him out of the swamp, SWAT officers utilized a high buoyancy swift water rescue vest to provide floatation across the canal,” Sheriff Mike Tregre said. “This provided the safest, most expedient method for getting him out of the water, off the street, and into custody.”
Taylor, 21, was charged with resisting an officer by flight (misdemeanor); aggravated flight of an officer by vehicle (felony); contributing to the delinquency of juveniles (felony); and illegal possession of stolen things (felony). Taylor is being held in custody in lieu of a $26,500 bond.
The juvenile was charged with fleeing and resisting an officer by flight (misdemeanor). She is being held in custody.
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A law enforcement-related agency has provided this information as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal “Allen persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.” or arrested and charged with a crime have not been convicted of any criminal offense. They are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
