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Sheriff: Four arrested after car shot at in Terrebonne Parish

Spencer Theodore Riney, 23, is charged with aggravated criminal damage to property, authorities said.
Credit: WWL
Police lights (Stock photo)

BOURG, La. — A Bourg man was arrested Thursday after a family member claimed he shot at the vehicle she was driving, authorities said.

Three other men were arrested in connection to the incident after they helped the suspect elude deputies by transporting him in a boat to a nearby marsh and lied about it, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office said.

Spencer Theodore Riney, 23, is charged with aggravated criminal damage to property, authorities said. He also had outstanding warrants for failing to appear in court.

Also charged in the incident were Trey Richard Shugars, 25, Alvin Anthony Lee, 22 and Erin Neal, 35, the Sheriff’s Office said. Each was charged with obstruction of justice.

Deputies were called around 3 p.m. to the 100 block of La. 55 Thursday to investigate a “disturbance with a gun,” the Sheriff’s Office said. The victim said she was driving a friend’s vehicle when she saw Riney driving a vehicle and towing a boat.

Due to the vehicle’s slow speed she was able to identify Shugars as Riney’s front seat passenger, authorities said. She claimed there were two backseat passengers but couldn’t identify them at the time.

As the vehicle was passing, Riney fired a pistol at the victim’s car and sped off, the Sheriff’s Office said. Evidence was later found that supported the victim’s claims, authorities said.

A deputy found Riney’s vehicle at an area boat launch along with an empty boat trailer, the Sheriff’s Office said. The officer then saw the boat containing all four men.

When the deputy approached, the boat left the area but returned shortly later, the Sheriff’s Office said. Shugars, Lee and Neal were still in the boat, but Riney was missing, authorities said. During questioning the three men denied Riney had been in the boat with them.

Riney was later found walking on a nearby levee and was taken into custody, the Sheriff’s Office said. All four men were arrested and booked into the Terrebonne Parish jail.

Riney’s bond was set at $25,806. The other three men were each jailed on a $1,000 bond.

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Houma Courier Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 448-7639 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanVCopp.

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