A man accused of being a serial beer thief was arrested Friday afternoon after a detective saw him leaving Walgreen’s with a 12-pack of Budweiser. Detective Sergeant Stephen Ward reported Roderick Demond Simmons was arrested for theft and evading arrest. Simmons also had a county warrant issued for theft with a “no bond” order attached to the warrant.
Sergeant Ward said Simmons had at least two previous convictions of stealing beer.
The detective said he was stopped at the traffic light on 16th Street at Burton Avenue about 12:30 p.m. Friday when he saw Simmons leave with the 12-pack. He reported when Simmons saw the officer, he began quickly walking in the opposite direction.
Detective Ward followed the man, who walked down 15th Street behind Walgreen’s and then went through a yard to 14th Street. The man wouldn’t stop and the detective said he saw him drop the 12-pack.
A patrol officer caught Simmons in the 400 block of Cherry Avenue. Police thought they saw the man drop something before he was arrested. They later found a cigarette package with cigars and cigarettes that Ward said smelled of PCP.
Police were reviewing video to see if Simmons had dropped the cigarette pack.
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A collision Saturday morning on DuPont Drive sent two adults and a baby to a hospital. One of the cars went off the roadway and also hit a house, though no one inside was injured.
Orange police report 28-year-old Richard D. Drouillard of Orange was seriously injured. He and a baby girl in a child safety seat were taken by Acadian Ambulance to Baptist Hospital in Beaumont.
33-year-old James Valley of Beaumont, who was driving in another car was taken by Acadian to St. Mary Hospital in Port Arthur with non-incapacitating injuries.
Orange police reported Valley was driving a 2017 Toyota Corolla westbound on New Jersey Street. The car did not stop for the stop sign at the intersection with DuPont Drive.
A Toyota Camry driven by Drouillard was traveling northbound on DuPont Drive about 11 a.m. Saturday. Police said the Corolla pulled in front of the Camry. The front of the Camry hit the side of the Corolla. The impact sent the Corolla into a house at 1512 DuPont Drive. Valley was given a citation for failure to yield right-of-way at a stop sign.
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No injuries were reported early Sunday morning when a Jeep Grand Cherokee went off the roadway of Park Avenue, hit a sign and landed in a ditch along the railroad tracks. The accident was about 4:30 a.m. Sunday in the 1100 block of Park.
Orange police said a 37-year-old woman driver was traveling west bound. The Jeep went off the road, hit a city “Truck Route” sign, and then went into the ditch. Two 15-year-old girls and a 9-year-old girl was listed as passengers in the car.
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A woman called Orange police at 8:14 Friday night to report a man had stood in front of her vehicle and fired shots into the bumper. She told Officer D.B. Mulhollan she was riding in a Dodge Nitro with her husband driving. He stopped to talk to a friend at Second Street and Moreell Avenue. A man then drove up in a vehicle, got out and lifted a handgun toward the Dodge. About five shots were fired and then the man went back into the vehicle and drove away.
Officer Mulhollan said the bullets appear to be from a .22 caliber gun. He noticed some holes in the bumper and saw fluid leaking underneath the Dodge.
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