MANHUNT – The road adjacent to an Iberia Parish cane field is turned into a parking lot for law enforcement vehicles while a police helicopter flies overhead in the search for murder suspect Paul Stanley Collins Jr. A mud-coated Collins was captured after a 20-hour manhunt, thanks in large part to the efforts of Lacey, a 1-year-old bloodhound with the Angola Penitentiary Chase Team, which helped to apprehend the fugitive, who was wanted in St. Martin Parish, on Friday, July 30. (Staff Photo by Sally Angelle)
Collins had been on the run from law enforcement officers since July 6, when he allegedly murdered his estranged wife at an apartment complex in St. Martinville.
Iberia Sheriff’s Office deputies, acting on an anonymous tip, located Collins driving on Rogers Street in New Iberia, Thursday, July 29. Deputies attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but Collins refused to yield to their demands.
While attempting to evade deputies, Collins lost control of his vehicle and fled on foot into a sugarcane field off South Landry Drive.
At approximately 2:30 a.m. Friday, nine members with the Angola Penitentiary Chase Team along with two bloodhounds and their Heat Imaging unit arrived at the scene.
At daybreak the Angola search team resumed their tracking of Collins. Lacey, a one-year-old bloodhound, was instrumental in the capture of the suspect, making this her first catch.
The St. Martinville Police Department, the Iberia Sheriff’s Office, Lafayette Police SWAT team, U.S. Marshals, St. Martin SO, St. Mary SO, UL Police, Louisiana State Police and the Angola Search Team, along with helicopters from Acadian Ambulance and Air Logistics, assisted with the captured of Collins.
He is charged with first degree murder, aggravated battery, armed robbery and violation of a protective order and is being held in the St. Martin Parish jail.
Post a Comment