# [ODMP] St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Department, Louisiana ~ June 16, 2006



## Guest (Jun 16, 2006)

A Commander with the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Department was killed in the line of duty on June 16, 2006

*http://www.odmp.org/officer.php?oid=18333*


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

The Officer Down Memorial Page Remembers . . .






















Commander Octavius Gonzales 
*St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Department
Louisiana*
End of Watch: Friday, June 16, 2006

Biographical Info
*Age:* 40
*Tour of Duty:* Not available
*Badge Number:* Not available

Incident Details
*Cause of Death:* Gunfire
*Date of Incident:* Friday, June 16, 2006
*Weapon Used*: Gun; Unknown type
*Suspect Info:* At large

Commander Gonzales was shot and killed while participating in a manhunt for two suspects who had shot and wounded another deputy minutes earlier.

The wounded deputy and his partner were conducting a narcotics operation and had stopped a vehicle with out-of-state plates. As the deputies approached the vehicle the driver opened fire on them, striking one of the deputies in the leg.

The suspect then fled the scene in the patrol car. Commander Gonzales located the patrol car and attempted to stop the vehicle. The driver immediately exited and opened fire, striking Commander Gonzales in the head. The suspect again fled into a residential area and remains at large.

Agency Contact Information
St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Department
P. O. Box 1600
LaPlace, LA 70069

Phone: (985) 652-9513

* _Please contact the agency for funeral information_

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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

Louisiana Deputy Killed, Suspect Surrenders










AP Photo/St.John The Baptist Sheriff Department

Cmdr. Octavio Gonzalez









AP Photo/Bill Haber

Police offices arrive on the scene where authorities are looking for a suspect in the shooting of a St. John Parish deputy in Kenner, La. Friday morning June 16, 2006. The deputy was killed following a traffic stop in St. John the Baptist Parish. John Lee Cheek of Texas is being sought in the shooting.

*MARY FOSTER*
_Associated Press_

A man wanted in the shooting death of sheriff's deputy surrendered to police after a standoff Friday and released an elderly man he had taken hostage, authorities said.

John Lee Cheek, 31, walked out of the hostage's home after about 30 minutes of negotiations, said Col. John Fortunato of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's office. Cheek already was suspected in several Texas thefts.

"Once we were able to establish contact with him, he agreed to surrender," Fortunato said. "He came out peacefully with no problem."

Dozens of heavily armed police officers swarmed the New Orleans suburb Friday morning after Cmdr. Octavio Gonzalez of the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office was shot to death and Cheek crashed his car during a police chase.

In River Ridge, Cheek ran into a home where neighbors said Cliff Lala, a man in his late 70s or early 80s, lived alone. Lala was later released unharmed and Cheek surrendered.

Wayne Jones, sheriff of St. John the Baptist Parish, said two officers working a drug assignment in the parish had attempted to stop a car with Texas plates around 1 a.m. Friday. When the car came to a stop and officers tried to approach it, shots were fired and one officer was wounded in the leg before the car sped off, he said.

When deputies caught up with the car again, Gonzales was killed.

Jones said a woman who was with the suspect was apprehended but the gunman escaped.

St. John the Baptist Parish is west of the New Orleans metropolitan area with subdivisions that serve as New Orleans bedroom communities. From that parish, the suspect was believed to have headed east into Kenner, where he allegedly broke into a home and stole a car before crashing into a ditch in the River Ridge area.

Resident Ronald Lemoine, 54, said he returned from walking his dog and was preparing to go to bed around 3:15 a.m. on Friday when he heard a crash outside. When he looked out his door, he could see an officer, gun drawn, yelling at the suspect to get out of the car and lay on the ground.

"Next thing you know, there were police all over the place," he said.

___

Associated Press Writer Michelle Roberts in New Orleans contributed to this report.








Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

An officer escorts John Lee Cheek after he was taken into custody ending a hostage situation in Kenner, La. Cheek, wanted in the shooting death of Cmdr. Octavius Gonzales of the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office surrendered to police after a standoff Friday and released an elderly man he had taken hostage.


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