FPD Officer Shot; Standoff Has Peaceful Ending

Note: Franklinton police officers along with other agencies put their lives on the line in the shooting situation listed below. Thanks to the professionalism of these brave men and women, the incident ended much better than it could have. A big "thank you" goes out to all officers who put their lives on the line every day to protect the people of Franklinton and Washington Parish. The article below is from the WWL-TV website.

FRANKLINTON, La. - A man robbed and shot his neighbor as well as a police officer who responded to the call; and, also set his own home on fire inside of which was the dead body of his mother, in a rampage Thursday night, according to the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office.

A spokesperson with the sheriff's office said 20-year-old Christopher Rashad Dillon was booked with two counts of attempted first-degree murder of a police officer and a count of aggravated arson. The incident happened in front of a home on 16th Avenue and Lenora.

According to the spokesperson, a man was returning to his home, when he was met in the driveway by Dillon, a man he recognized as a neighbor who demanded money. During the incident, the victim was shot. There were no specifics on his injury, but he was taken to University Hospital and was expected to be OK, according to the spokesperson.

Police said Dillon then retreated to his home, where he barricaded himself inside and shot at one of the officers responding to the scene. The officer was hit in the arm and his injury was said to be non life-threatening.

Police said Dillon then set his house on fire and after it was put out, the dead body of the his mother was found inside of the burned home.

Dillon eventually surrendered and was treated after which he was booked into the Washington Parish Jail.

20-year-old Christopher Rashad Dillon was booked with 2 counts of attempted first-degree murder of a police officer

Pictured above is the trailer where Dillon fired shots at officers from before setting it on fire. He was captured and taken into custody.

FPD News Release

Per FPD Major Justin Brown - Two releases 7/24/2013

On July 4th, Sgt. James Holmes took a report in reference to three news paper boxes belonging to The Era-Leader being broken into. Sgt. Holmes was able to obtain video of the suspect and turned the investigation over to Det. James Folks. Photos of the suspect were subsequentially loaded on the Franklinton Police Dept. Facebook page and then ran in the Era-Leader. Shortly after the story, Det. Folks received a phone call from an anonymous person who reported the suspects name was Douglas Carter. Cpl. Folks obtained a photo of Carter and learned he was on Probation for unrelated charges. After speaking with Carter’s Probation Officer who confirmed Carter was in fact the suspect in the video, Det. Folks secured a warrant for Carter charging him with 3 counts of theft and 3 counts criminal damage to property of a coin operated device. Carter was located by Probation and Parole Agents at a residence in Ponchatoula, La. and arrested without incident. Carter was booked and turned over to the Washington Parish Jail.

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On July 24, 2013, Quentin Watson was officially sentenced to life in prison without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. Following the trail last week, Watson was found guilty on two counts of 1st degree murder for the deaths of Anita Smith and her nephew William Lewis on February 6, 2008. The jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning the guilty verdict.

The Franklinton Police Department would like to thank the District Attorney's Office, Judge William Knight and the jurors who brought the case to an end. Major Justin Brown would like to recognize Captain Randall Penton, Corporal James Folks, Trooper Richard Newman and Nan Wood for their outstanding work on the case. Chief Donald Folse, Alderman John Daniel and officers of the Franklinton Police Department, your constant support helped maintain us throughout the process. Furthermore, the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab did an amazing job in processing the crime scene and susbsequent analyzing of evidence. We would also like to thank the community for it's continued support throughout the investigation and trial.
To the families of Anita Smith and William Lewis, our thoughts and prayers will forever be with you. We grieve with you and hope that now each of you may somehow find closure and peace.

Franklinton Officer Delivers

Police officers find themselves in many unusual situations these days while dealing with the public. One scenario that is out-of-the-ordinary for any police officer is to be in a position of delivering a baby. That's exactly where Franklinton Police Department's Pfc.Bubba Pugh has found himself lately. Pugh went on a call in the fall of 2010 and had delivered his first baby before leaving the residence. In May of 2013, he answered another call and found himself delivering his second baby while on duty. Last week he responded to a call at the apartment complex behind the Police Department where a lady had a premature delivery. When Pugh arrived, he found the tiny infant not breathing. He had been taught how to perform CPR on a baby, but had never performed it in a real-life setting. Pugh cleared the infant's airway and then began CPR. After several anxious moments the baby finally began to cry. Paramedics arrived and took the baby and mother to the hospital. They are both doing fine now.

Pugh has also earned statewide awards for most DWI citations issued for the past two years while the department as a whole has earned the award the last two years in their class.