Intruder dies after shot twice with stun gun
DONALDSONVILLE — A man caught committing a duplex break-in early Thursday went into cardiac arrest en route to a hospital and later died after deputies shot him twice with stun guns in an effort to bring him under control, Ascension Parish Sheriff Jeff Wiley said.
Charmin Bennett, 30, 208 Bourg St., dove head-first through the closed window of a duplex at D’Ville Village in Donaldsonville shortly before 4 a.m., lacerating his head and landing on a bed with someone sleeping in it, Wiley said.
Once inside and until deputies arrived, Bennett, whom Wiley said later admitted to being on cocaine, had to be held at bay with a stick by the fiancé of the woman occupant and with a hatchet held by the woman’s son.
Wiley said deputies believe the attempted burglary was random and noted the federal housing project’s surveillance cameras caught someone trying to break into the other side of the duplex shortly before Bennett burst through the window.
In a news conference Thursday, Wiley defended his deputies’ subsequent actions as being in keeping with his policies on stun guns and his requirement that paramedics be on standby when deputies use stun guns.
A Taser stun gun is a type of weapon in wide use by law enforcement authorities that fires electrified darts that stun and immobilize a person on the receiving end of the charge.
Wiley said Bennett, after receiving both Taser shots, was conscious, communicating and somewhat lucid, though experiencing hallucinations, when he left in an ambulance bound for Prevost Hospital in Donaldsonville.
“Translation: there was no indication, at that point, of any residual evidence of a problem with the Tase application,” Wiley said.
He said the deputies who responded would not be placed on leave and said he would not ask Louisiana State Police to investigate. But the sheriff noted additional internal reporting would be required following the use of the Tasers.
Bennett’s eldest sister, Rose Bennett Pedescleaux, 38, of Gonzales, questioned on Thursday the need to shoot her unarmed brother — who was 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighed 150 pounds — a second time.
“If he didn’t produce no weapon or do no bodily harm to nobody, why are you still Tasing him? That’s our whole thing,” she wanted to know as she sat with her mother and other relatives Thursday in front of the Bourg Street mobile home where Bennett lived with his mother.
Pedescleaux said there are conflicting accounts about what may have happened inside the duplex and questioned whether her brother actually was resisting deputies before he was hit with a Taser shot a second time.
Bennett has a lengthy arrest record, including burglaries, resisting arrest, drugs and disturbing the peace counts, according to court records.
Pedescleaux said her brother did not have any history of psychiatric problems or any kind of heart condition. She said her brother was a healthy 30-year-old, although he had taken illegal drugs in the past.
Pedescleaux said, however, that her brother had just gotten out of jail and told her on Valentine’s Day that he was looking forward to seeing his son in Baton Rouge.
Arriving deputies did find Bennett on the duplex floor, half under the bed, half exposed, being held back by the men of the home, Sheriff Wiley said.
After continued resistance from Bennett, an arriving deputy shot him once with a Taser while the Bennett was still lying on the floor, Wiley said.
Once shot, Bennett, who had no shirt on, pulled out the Taser’s probes from his abdomen and continued to resist, jabbing at deputies with a pedestal fan in the close quarters of the back bedroom where he had landed, Wiley said.
“He pulled the (Taser) probes out and exacerbated the situation,” Wiley said.
Deputies said in a statement this part of their account was witnessed by the fiancé , Claudell Tausin.
Standing in front of the D’Ville Village duplex later Thursday, Tausin declined comment on behalf of himself and three other people in the duplex Thursday morning.
“All of us are in shock,” Tausin said.
He said he had never seen Bennett before Thursday morning.
After continued resistance by Bennett at the scene of the crime, another deputy shot Bennett again in the abdomen and three deputies were able to handcuff him and physically carry him from the residence, Wiley said.
A deputy actually fell to the ground with Bennett, whom Wiley said was passively resisting at this point, when they both crossed through the door to leave the duplex.
Wiley said Sheriff’s Office policy is to have Acadian Ambulance respond to every case where a suspect is shot with a Taser. Acadian paramedics checked Bennett at the scene and he seemed to be fine, Wiley said.
But due to Bennett’s behavior and statements that he was under the influence of cocaine, a sheriff’s supervisor recommended Bennett be taken to Prevost Hospital, Wiley said.
Once Bennett went into cardiac arrest in the ambulance, attempts to resuscitate him started and continued at the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, deputies said.
Wiley said Bennett’s body was sent to Lafayette to await autopsy. He said toxicology tests would be performed.