By Paige Gurgainers (KTBS 3 News)
A Bienville Parish 17-year-old is currently being held at the Jackson Parish Detention Center facing four felony charges.
According to Bienville Parish Sheriff John Ballance, on September 20 around noon, Jeremiah Tousant of Bienville, was allegedly riding a bicycle before deciding to make a pit stop at a gentleman’s home near Lucky. Allegedly, Tousant claimed to be thirsty and asked the man if he had any water. The homeowner had been mowing grass, but stopped to drive into town and get gas to refill his mower. Reportedly, when he returned home he found Tousant propped against his truck claiming that his bicycle was stolen and asked the gentleman if he could give him a ride.
“The victim drove Tousant to where he claimed his home was in another location near Lucky,” said Ballance. “The gentleman took him as far as he was comfortable and asked Tousant to exit the vehicle.”
The victim alleges this upset Tousant and when he exited the victim’s vehicle, Tousant sprayed him twice in the face with mace. The gentleman reportedly then remembered he had a gun in the vehicle and went to retrieve it. That is when Tousant allegedly took the gun from the owner and turned it towards him before attempting to fire a shot.
“There was not a shell in the barrel, so it just clicked,” said Ballance. “The man said he heard the audible sound of the trigger when it clicked.”
According to Ballance, while there was no shell in the barrel there were two in the magazine.
Tousant had a backpack with him and left it in the vehicle before fleeing the scene. The victim went to the sheriff’s office with the backpack allowing deputies to identify him. They were able to locate Tousant at his residence where he was arrested and charged with armed robbery with use of a firearm (felony), aggravated battery with a dangerous weapon (felony), theft of a firearm (felony) and attempted second-degree murder (felony).
Tousant’s bicycle was later discovered hidden in the woods near the victim’s home.
Tousant is currently being held at the Jackson Parish Detention Center. His bond was set at $425K.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.