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Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

SOUTH MISSISSIPPI’S MOST WANTED

Murder, drug conspiracy suspect tops list

SOUTH MISSISSIPPI — A man accused of murder in Louisiana and drug conspiracy in South Mississippi is among those featured in the latest list of South Mississippi’s most wanted criminal suspects.

Since the first five installments of the Sun Herald’s lists in November 2007, March and July 2008 and in January and April, at least 19 most-wanted suspects have been captured.

In the case of Gautier murder suspect Rodney J. Lasseigne, the search for him ended April 18 in St. Johns County, Fla., when sheriff’s deputies there shot and killed Lasseigne after he allegedly pulled a sawed-off shotgun on them. The fatal shooting occurred in a truck-stop parking lot, where deputies ran a background check on the vehicle and discovered it was registered to the most-wanted suspect from Gautier. Lasseigne, who also was featured on the television show “America’s Most Wanted,” was accused in the July 17, 2008, beating death of his mother, Juanita Gibson, at the home they shared on Mississippi 57 in Gautier.

The feature in April also led to the arrest less than two weeks later of Dain Leif Werner, who was wanted in Jackson County on charges of manufacturing meth and possession of explosives.

Werner was arrested April 30 at a home on Markham Drive in Gulfport after authorities received tips he’d just moved there.

South Mississippi authorities said the most-wanted lists continue to assist law enforcement agencies because residents are calling in tips that often lead to arrests.

Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd credited the Sun Herald’s list for tips for leading to the arrest of convicted sex offender Ronnie Edwards.

Edwards was wanted as a noncompliant sex offender, meaning he failed to register his home address, and was picked up shortly after a tipster read a Sun Herald story about the most-wanted suspects and recognized him.

“It’s a good thing we hope will continue,” Byrd said after the arrest.

The latest list includes Louisiana murder suspect Long Nhan Dang, 37, also wanted in South Mississippi on a felony charge of conspiracy-to-distribute drug charge.

Details about the drug charge in South Mississippi are sealed in federal court records, but records in Louisiana show Dang is accused there of shooting Biloxi resident Hung Van Din to death during a party in Marrero, La.

A warrant for his arrest for second-degree murder was issued in Jefferson Parish, La., in December 2005.

Agents with the Narcotics Task Force of Jackson County are searching for three suspects in unrelated meth cases.

One of the suspects, Thomas Earl Furby, 39, is sought in connection with a meth-lab explosion in 2004.

In addition, Biloxi police are looking for man wanted on felony marijuana-distribution charges, and Gulfport police are hunting for a man wanted in a grand-larceny investigation and another man accused of selling cocaine.

Hancock County sheriff’s deputies are still looking for a woman accused of embezzling money from a construction company, and Harrison County sheriff’s deputies are continuing the search for a noncompliant sex offender.

Narcotics agents in Harrison County are searching for a man and woman accused in a meth precursor-possession case.

Authorities said the pair hasn’t been seen since a Feb. 15 search of their home that resulted in the seizure of various items used to manufacture meth.

Ocean Springs police are continuing the search for a man accused of sex crimes against a minor, along with a man accused of embezzling money from a Government Street grocery store before allegedly using the victim’s identification to obtain a fraudulent Florida driver’s license.