The Associated Press
ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) - An off-duty Rapides Parish sheriff’s deputy was shot in the hand and hip with his own gun and his female passenger was raped Thursday at the Red River Levee Park, authorities said.
It was the second incident at the Third Street boat launch this week and Police Chief Daren Coutee said police have increased security in the area, known as a gathering spot and Lovers Lane, he said.
“We will put some extra effort in the area,” Coutee said.
Deputy Jason Little, 24, and a woman were attacked at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday. Little was shot in the hip and the hand with his own shotgun. He was listed in serious but stable condition at a local hospital late Thursday. Little’s passenger also is undergoing treatment, Coutee said.
City police arrested 17-year-old Kentwaun Rockett of Pineville on charges of attempted first-degree murder, armed robbery and aggravated rape. A juvenile also was taken into custody and is under investigation but has not been charged. Police have identified a third suspect but are not releasing his name. Rockett and the juvenile were taken into custody about an hour after the attack, Coutee said.
Little and the unidentified woman were inside a vehicle when Rockett and another person approached them, police said. The suspects identified themselves as levee patrol officers and asked that the two get out of the vehicle. During the confrontation, Little brandished a shotgun. It appears a struggle ensued, and one of the suspects was able to get the weapon.
While one suspect held the gun on Little, police said the other raped the woman. Investigators said the woman told them she heard a gunshot, and the suspects left. She found Little shot. City police found Little’s shotgun near the scene. The gun was not issued by the Sheriff’s Office, Maj. Mike Slocum said. Little was in his personal vehicle and not in uniform, Slocum added.
The Sheriff’s Office has assigned its Internal Affairs detective to assist Alexandria police in the investigation. Detectives said the motive for the attack remains unclear. Investigators have not interviewed Little or the woman, Coutee said.
On Tuesday, a man and a woman were at the same boat launch when a man and juvenile allegedly walked up to their vehicle. They also were told the men were part of the levee patrol. The victims had a gun in the vehicle, and the suspects found it and used it to rob the pair, police reports state. Police arrested a juvenile and Denerick Byrd of Alexandria, on a charge of armed robbery. Investigators are looking into the possibility that the two incidents are connected.