In support of Operation Dry Water, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Enforcement Division arrested 25 boaters statewide for alleged driving or operating a vessel while intoxicated (DWI) from July 4 to July 6.
On July 4, agents arrested the following for DWI:
Michael Richard, 43, of Carencro, on Henderson Lake in St. Martin Parish.
Hamilton P. Lemoine, 35, of Glynn, on False River in Pointe Coupee.
Kyler Broussard, 22, of Lake Arthur, on Lake Arthur Lake in Jefferson Davis Parish.
Shane Fontenot, 19, of Gueydan, on Lake Arthur Lake Jefferson Davis Parish.
Vance Venable, 60, of Gonzales, on the Amite River in Livingston Parish.
Jon Day, 53, of Prairieville, on the Amite River in Livingston Parish.
Teal Smith, 36, of Stephensville, on the Belle River in St. Martin Parish.
Kane Sanchez, 20, of Gonzalez, on the Belle River in St. Martin Parish
Casey Landry, 24, of Pierre Part in Bayou Milhomme in St. Martin Parish.
Rufus Underwood, 64, of Oil City, on Caddo Lake in Caddo Parish.
Johnathan A Campbell, 33, of Winnsboro, on Lake Bruin in Tensas Parish.
Austin McCormick, 26, of Vicksburg, Miss., on the Mississippi River in Madison Parish.
On July 5, agents arrested the following for DWI:
Jason Martin, 48, of Leesville, on the Calcasieu River in Calcasieu Parish.
Casey Bonin, 36, of Lake Arthur, on Lake Arthur Lake in Jefferson Davis Parish.
On July 6, agents arrested the following for DWI:
Logan T. Bordelon, 33, of Baton Rouge, on the Barataria Waterway in Jefferson Parish.
Timothy Worsham, 30, of Broussard, on Lake Fausse Point in Iberia Parish.
Robert Albair, 50, of Hackberry, on the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Calcasieu Parish.
Bradley Tircuit, 49, of Greenwell Springs, on the Tickfaw River in Livingston Parish.
Peewee Cole Jones, 35, of Holden, on the Tickfaw River in Livingston Parish.
Daniel Mayfield, 24, of Bush, on Salt Bayou in St. Tammany Parish.
Eli Stringer, 24, of Trout, on Black River Lake in Concordia Parish.
Nata Sedatol, 30, of Charenton, on the Atchafalaya River in St. Martin Parish.
Wallace Carline, 25, of Broussard, on the Belle River in St. Martin Parish.
Jules Joiner, 27, of Pierre Part, on Bayou Long in St. Martin Parish.
Tate Hanson, 20, of Bernice, on Lake D’Arbonne in Union Parish.
“Our agents did a tremendous job patrolling the waterways looking for impaired boat operators during Operation Dry Water,” said Col. Stephen Clark, head of the LDWF Enforcement Division. “Keeping our waterways safe for all is a priority for the department, and getting these boaters off the water helps us do just that. We are very happy to report as well that we didn’t have a single recreational boating fatality.”
Anyone cited for a DWI on the water or on the road will lose his or her driver's license and boating privileges for the specified time ordered by the judge in the case. Also, each offense of operating a vehicle or vessel while intoxicated counts toward the total number of DWI crimes whether they happened on the water or road.
In Louisiana a DWI can be issued to anyone operating a moving vessel or vehicle while impaired. First offense DWI carries a $300 to $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail.
Operation Dry Water was started in 2009 and is a joint program involving the LDWF/LED, the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) and the U.S. Coast Guard. More information is available at www.operationdrywater.org.