St. Mary Parish Sheriff Blaise Smith advises that over the last 72-hour reporting period, the Sheriff's Office responded to 103 complaints and reports the following arrests:

Kevin James Diggs, 47, Franklin, LA, was arrested on September 18, 2023, at 3:19 am for attempted 1st-degree murder.

Raymond Terry Chapman, 43, Franklin, LA, was arrested on September 18, 2023, at 3:19 am for possession of heroin, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

On September 1, 2023, deputies were dispatched to a medical facility in Franklin in regards to a victim who had been stabbed. Upon arrival, the deputies spoke with a victim who said they had been stabbed at a residence by Kevin Diggs. The case was assigned to a SMPSO detective who began an investigation into the incident and obtained a warrant for Digg's arrest.

On September 18, 2023, a K9 deputy was notified of a vehicle traveling on Highway 90 west and one of the occupants was Diggs, who held an active warrant. The deputy conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and made contact with the passenger, identified as Raymond, and the driver, who was identified as Diggs.

Dispatch confirmed the active warrant for Diggs, and he was taken into custody.

During the stop, K9 Doerak was deployed for an open-air sniff on the vehicle's exterior and showed an indication of narcotics odor. Drugs belonging to Raymond were located in the vehicle.

Diggs and Raymond were transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center for booking. Bail has not been set at this time.

 

Matthew Ryan Senette, 39, Centerville, LA, was arrested on September 17, 2023, at 6:42 pm on the following charges:

• Domestic abuse battery
• Violation of protective orders
• False imprisonment
• Interfering with emergency communication-simple
• Criminal damage to property-simple

Bail has not been set at this time.

 

Cordell Jerome Johnson Jr., 22, Franklin, LA, was arrested on September 16, 2023, at 12:13 pm for resisting a police officer with force-non-aggravated and disturbing the peace by language.  Bail was set at $10,000.

 

Briana Shontae Allen, 28, New Iberia, LA, was arrested on September 16, 2023, at 6:54 pm on a St. Martin warrant for failure to appear. Allen is being held for another agency.

 

All persons arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

 

Public Information Officer

St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office