Casino Thief Drives Directly into Bayou

With a population of around 15,000 people, the Louisiana parish of Thibodaux does not make it into the national news very often. This past week, however, the town has hit the headlines around the world due to one man’s bizarre attempts to break and then escape the law following his impending arrest for a spate of small robberies of video poker machines.

Local detectives were already investigating a spike in the number of gaming machine thefts that had taken place in nearby parishes and it was suspected, correctly with the benefit of hindsight, that the same individual or team of individuals were responsible for the crimes.

In an effort to catch those responsible for the crimes and bring them to justice, video footage of the incident caught on casino surveillance cameras was released to the general public on June 6th by the Local Parish Sheriff’s Office with a plea for information.

Following a routine traffic stop for a speeding violation on the local freeway, Domangue clearly felt the net closing in on him and noting that the car he was driving was stolen, he correctly foresaw consequences for him in excess of a ticking off for speeding. In a moment of madness, he chose to make a break for freedom, hoping to escape the clutches of the deputies who had pulled him over. A potentially dangerous car chase ensued.

As he drove off and in a desperate search for options, Domangue spotted an opportunity that a conventional thinker wouldn’t and possibly not an option a caring vehicle owner would ever consider. He decided to drive headlong into the Bayou Lafourche river and tried to swim to freedom. A flawed but creative strategy! Unfortunately for him it proved unsuccessful and he was quickly apprehended by other deputies who had, by this time, arrived at the scene to offer assistance and bring the chase to a safe conclusion.

Whilst it could have been much worse, in the end the only damage caused was to the stolen car, Domangue’s ego and possibly, in due course, his liberty. As well as facing drugs charges for methamphetamine and syringes found in the car at the time of his arrest, Domangue has also been accused of other similar crimes concerning theft from video poker machines in the nearly Parish of Terrebonne.

Following this flurry of activity he was left with no ill-gotten gains and a hefty charge sheet as he faces the tough hand of the law and the inevitable legal consequences. After he was booked into the Assumption Parish Jail, Domangue was charged with resisting an officer with force or violence, flight from an officer, possession of stolen property, drug possession, felony theft, criminal damage to coin-operated devices, and multiple traffic violations.

He must surely be asking himself now, was it all worth it? Lafourche Parish Sheriff, Mr Craig Webre who has been in office for almost 25 years, gave a report on the incident on his blog on the sheriff's website: