Sulphur Man Arrested Following Pursuit, Racks Up Multiple Charges

A Sulphur man is behind bars after leading deputies with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office on a pursuit in a stolen vehicle that ended after he felt into a wooded area on foot. Deputies located him and he was found in possession illegal substances.

On March 27, deputies responded to a crash in the area of Koonce Rd. and St. Luke Ln. in Sulphur, where a truck was stuck in a ditch after hitting a utility pole.

According to a media release, once deputies arrived they observed the truck leaving the scene, but when they attempted to stop the truck the suspect fled and a pursuit ensued. During the pursuit the truck made several unsafe lane changes causing other vehicles to move off the roadway, ran a stop sign, and traveled at a high rate of speed.  The suspect eventually stopped the vehicle in the middle of the roadway in the 500 block of East Houston River Rd. and fled on foot into a wooded area.  A short time later deputies located the driver, Joseph C. Semien, 26, 3788 E. Burton St., Sulphur, exiting the woods.

Deputies learned Semien had a suspended driver's license and was driving a truck that was reported stolen from Arlington, Texas. There was also a 14-year-old passenger in the truck, who was left at the scene of the crash, but later picked up by a parent. Deputies did a search of the truck that turned up "a large amount of suspected marijuana".

Semien was arrested and booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Center and charged with hit and run; flight from an officer; illegal possession of stolen things; possession of marijuana 14 grams or more; illegal use of a CDS in the presence of a person under 17; resisting an officer by flight; and operating a vehicle with a suspended license. Semien also had two active warrants for contempt of court for possession of CDS II; simple burglary; and theft between $750 and $5,000.  His bond is pending.