5 teens arrested relative to shots fired in Ferriday, Clayton

Published 1:56 pm Wednesday, December 28, 2022

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FERRIDAY, La. — Ferriday Police Department arrested multiple teens Tuesday night who investigators believe may be tied to perpetual gunfire incidents Friday and Tuesday in Clayton and Ferriday.

Ferriday Police Chief Sam King said the first of the latest shootings happened midday Friday in Clayton, where someone reported bullets entering their home on Bingham Street. One that “is very likely related” occurred later that day in the area of 10th and Delaware streets, where it was reported several individuals in one vehicle were firing at another, King said.

No suspects were arrested until Tuesday when police responded to a “shots fired” call at approximately 7:30 p.m. at Alabama at 8th streets. No injuries have been reported in any of these incidents, though some property damage was caused by the bullets entering a house and vehicle, King said.

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“Best we can tell, two groups were shooting at each other and we were able to stop one of the vehicles involved,” he said.

Police arrested two 17-year-olds, whose names have not been released because they are juveniles. They also arrested Otis Jefferson Jr., 19, of Alexandria, on the charge of principal to illegal use of weapons from a motor vehicle; Jacoby Thomas, of Clayton, on the charge of illegal use of weapons from a motor vehicle; and Ramon Thomas, 18, of Clayton, on the charge of illegal possession of stolen firearms.

Police also recovered four guns from the vehicle, one of which had been reported stolen out of Natchez, King said.

“We believe this to be an ongoing dispute between the two groups,” he said, adding he does not believe it to be gang-related.

“I’d say that it’s very likely that some of these we arrested last night were involved in the earlier shootings,” King said.

He added police continue to fight to reduce and prevent gun violence in Ferriday. He referenced the case of Demon’tay Deon Dunbar, a 25-year-old who was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison on an attempted aggravated assault charge. King, who testified at trial, said when Dunbar was arrested in June, he carried a 5.56x45mm assault weapon with a 100-round drum magazine and a pistol grip and a 9mm “ghost gun,” so-called because it is made of parts that have no serial numbers, making the gun impossible to trace.

Dunbar also faces charges for two other incidents of gun violence and has court dates scheduled in January for both cases.

“We continue to fight the good fight and arrest those that need to be arrested to keep our community safe,” King said.