THIBODAUX -- A Vacherie man pleaded guilty this week to abducting his ex-girlfriend from the Nicholls State University campus last spring and taking her to Ascension Parish, where he had plan to drive his car into the Mississippi River with both of them in it.

Tremayne Rodrigue, 30, received a nine-year prison sentence for false imprisonment with a dangerous weapon stemming from the April 12 incident with Anysia Preyan, who he dated three years.

Rodrigue’s plea agreement may have occurred months sooner had the defense and prosecution been able to agree on the sentence length. False imprisonment with a dangerous weapon is punishable in Louisiana by a maximum of 10 years.

"Originally I wanted 10 years," said Assistant District Attorney Diana Sanders, who handles domestic-violence cases. "He wanted eight. It was a compromise plea."

Rodrigue, initially charged with second-degree kidnapping, was scheduled for trial May 19.

"As far as I was concerned, whether he pleaded to kidnapping or false imprisonment, I was looking for a nine-year sentence," Sanders said, noting she had the approval of the victim’s family in seeking the plea.

Preyan appeared in court the day her former boyfriend pleaded guilty. She elected not to give a victim-impact statement, however.

Rodrigue also remained quiet during the proceedings, Sanders said.

According to the prosecution, Rodrigue used a screwdriver-type device to pry open the victim’s door at Nicholls’ La Maison Du Bayou apartment complex, where he had allegedly been staying without authorization. Once inside, he forced Preyan to accompany him on a wild ride through multiple parishes.

Police from St. James, Ascension and Lafourche searched for Rodrigue’s 2007 black Kia Rio as he entered Ascension. All the while, he told Preyan he planned to kill both of them by crashing his car into the Mississippi River.

Fearing the end of her life was near, Preyan jumped out the passenger-side door while the car was moving. She was not physically hurt during the abduction.

Rodrigue, meanwhile, jumped into the Mississippi River and began swimming. Police convinced him to surrender.

At the time of the abduction, Preyan had a protective court order against Rodrigue, yet he still got close enough to Preyan to inject fear.

"It goes to show you have to take protective orders seriously," Sanders said.