By Pat Culverhouse
Wednesday proved to be an “all hands on deck” day for multiple law enforcement agencies when separate, simultaneous incidents resulted in the capture of a wanted fugitive and recovery of a missing juvenile.
Chief of Police Jared McIver said Wednesday was one of those days when things happened at once.
“We had received a report that an autistic juvenile had left a local residence and we were in the process of searching for him when we were contacted by City Marshal Dan Weaver,” McIver said.
“He had received notification from Houston police that they were looking for an armed robbery suspect who could be in the Minden area where he had family. Marshal Weaver had been able to trace a possible location for the suspect.”
According to the notification, Houston police were looking for 25-year-old Dontaveyun Z. Crockett, a Dayton, Texas resident.
“We were able to mobilize and redeploy officers to look for the suspect within 10 minutes after Marshal Weaver contacted us,” McIver said.
Shortly after 8 p.m., MPD Lt. Mitch Hackett reportedly spotted Crockett walking on Midland St. When Hackett stopped his unit, Crockett fled along Long St. where he reportedly tossed a handgun with an extended clip into a ditch.
As the foot pursuit continued onto Chestnut St., the suspect reportedly ran behind a trailer home and managed to elude officers. An intense search continued and Crockett was reportedly found hiding inside a Chestnut St. residence reportedly owned by a family member.
Crockett was taken to Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center where he was booked on a fugitive warrant from Harris County, Texas.
While the hunt was underway for the wanted fugitive, Minden police and Webster Parish Sheriff’s deputies continued to look for the juvenile who had been reported missing earlier Wednesday.
“We did a good job of reallocating resources without jeopardizing either of these situations,” McIver said. “Our combined search for the young person never stopped.”
After roughly three hours, the search ended when the youth was found at a residence in the Roosevelt St. neighborhood. After an investigation into the incident, the youth reportedly was placed in the custody of the Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS).
“I cannot say enough about the teamwork involved,” McIver said. “We had two critical situations and all three enforcement agencies (MPD, Sheriff’s Office, Marshal’s Office) answered the call. We have a harmonious relationship the people of our city and parish deserve.”
MPD Patrol Commander Lt. Shane Griffith said he was especially pleased with the efficiency and determination of the officers.
“I can’t say enough about how we performed in these two circumstances,” Griffith said. “When the time came that we needed to handle two critical incidents, there was no hesitation. Their focus never wavered and they got the job done.”
McIver said the Wednesday performance of the law enforcement agencies will hopefully send a message to criminals.
“I hope this tells them that if they do a crime somewhere, Minden might not be the best place for them to come and try to hide,” he said.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.