CONVENT – Two individuals were arrested in connection with a rash of vehicle
burglaries that occurred in both St. James and Ascension parishes.
In a cooperative investigation by both the St. James Parish and the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Offices, detectives captured and charged Erick Byington and Ashley Lee. The St. James Parish Sheriff’s Office was alerted by the Ascension Sheriff’s Office about the burglaries and a vehicle that had been taken from the parking lot of Ascension Catholic Church.
Byington was charged with six counts simple burglary; two counts of attempted burglary; one count of illegal
possession of stolen things; and two counts for being a fugitive
from other jurisdictions. His bond is $15,000.
Lee was charged with six counts of simple burglary; two counts
of attempted burglary; one count illegal possession of stolen things; two counts of being a fugitive from other jurisdictions; five counts of unauthorized use of an access card; one count of identity theft; and one count of forgery. His bond is $127,500.
Both subjects are currently incarcerated at the St. James Parish Sheriff’s Office Jail in Convent.
The St. James Sheriff’s Office received a call reporting a suspicious vehicle located in a field near the intersection of Louisiana Highway 3125 and Louisiana Highway 70. Deputies discovered it was a stolen vehicle from Ascension Parish. While deputies were at the scene of the recovered stolen vehicle, a 911 call was received from Auto Zone in Gramercy regarding two subjects inside of an employee’s vehicle.
The two subjects fled the scene after being confronted at Auto Zone by concerned citizens and were stopped by responding officers from the Gramercy Police Department and the Sheriff’s Office. Detectives were able to locate several items that were stolen
from vehicles in both
St. James and Ascension parishes. The St.
James Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Ascension Sheriff’s Office are continuing their investigation of the incident.