WEST BATON ROUGE PARISH, La. (BRPROUD) – The West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office says they have arrested a suspect allegedly involved in the deadly helicopter chase Sunday.
At 2:27 a.m. Sunday, the Baton Rouge police were chasing a 2014 Ford Mustang that crossed into West Baton Rouge Parish on I-10, the sheriff’s office said. Deandre Dwayne Bessye, 23, was identified as the driver and was allegedly driving at a speed of 135 MPH.
The sheriff’s office said they were not chasing the vehicle.
At 3:14 a.m., deputies received a call about an abandoned car on Poydras Road. The car was later identified as the one involved in the police chase.
According to the sheriff’s office, Bessye got a ride to a gas station from a nearby homeowner and called a friend to pick him up.
Deputies received a call from one of the officer’s family members later that morning. They were asked to respond to the area between North Winterville Road and Bueche Road.
Deputies found the crash site and told the police and the Baton Rouge Metro Airport Traffic Control.
Bessye was arrested by the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force. He is currently booked into the West Baton Rouge Parish Detention Center but will be sent to the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.
The sheriff’s office charged him with two counts of manslaughter, aggravated flight from an officer and aggravated obstruction of highway commerce.
The police will charge him with aggravated flight from an officer and hit and run.