A Luling man has been charged with attempted first-degree murder of a police officer after his run in with a St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s deputy last Wednesday in which the man tried to run the officer over with his car.Sheriff Greg Champagne told the Herald Guide that what began as a routine traffic stop quickly escalated into a dangerous situation when a patrol deputy attempted to stop Crondell E. Flowers, 36, 1034 Paul Frederick St., for running a stop sign.
The deputy was working patrol near an intersection of Paul Frederick Street when he enacted a traffic stop on Flowers who fled down the street and eventually stopped in an empty lot near his home.
The deputy then got out of his car and approached Flowers’ vehicle when he heard the tires peel on the suspect’s car. Champagne said that Flowers appeared to have been aiming to strike the officer with his car, being that there was ample room for the suspect to elude the officer without hitting him with his car. The deputy attempted to dodge the oncoming car but was clipped in the thigh.
Another deputy was able to catch Flowers just minutes later without further incident, Champagne told the Herald Guide.
The injured deputy was treated at St. Charles Parish Hospital for minor scrapes including a bruised leg and a shoulder strain.
He was released shortly afterwards and returned to active duty. Flowers was recently released on parole but had no outstanding warrants, leaving Champagne to wonder why he would even run from something as minor as a traffic violation.
“If he had stopped, the worst that would have happened to him was a citation for running a stop sign,” Champagne said. “I guess he’s just used to running.”
Flowers is facing charges of resisting an officer by flight, battery on a police officer with injury, running a stop sign and not using a turn signal in addition to the attempted murder charge.
He was booked into the Nelson Coleman Correctional Facility and is being held on $100,000 bond set by Judge Emile St. Pierre.
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