Young sons save mother from dad
Moss Bluff man arrested after leading deputies on 4-mile chase
A Moss Bluff man is charged with attempted second-degree murder after allegedly firing a shot at his wife, then wrestling her to the ground before she was saved by their three sons, authorities said Monday.
Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso said deputies received a report at about 10 p.m. Saturday of a man firing a weapon at his Moss Bluff home. Upon arrival, they saw Robert L. Moreau, 36, leaving in a truck. After a four-mile chase, deputies arrested Moreau, who was wearing body armor and a bullet-resistant helmet, Mancuso said.
"We actually had to tase him," Mancuso said. "He was yelling at us to shoot him, but we didn’t. These deputies just did a tremendous job bringing him into custody."
Mancuso said Moreau and his wife began arguing at a benefit earlier in the evening. The victim later told detectives that on the ride home, Moreau had a pistol in his lap and threatened to shoot her.
"He’s fussing at her, griping and complaining and then when they got home … he actually shot at her," Mancuso said. "She went outside and Moreau followed her with the pistol behind his back and then fired a shot at her and they began wrestling."
Mancuso said during the "fighting match," one child grabbed the gun and unloaded it.
"And one of the other kids evidently pulls another gun on (Moreau) and tells him to leave their mother alone," Mancuso said.
He said Moreau ran back into the home, while the children, ages 14, 12 and 10, and their mother ran to a neighbor’s house across the street, where they stayed until deputies arrived. Home video surveillance showed Moreau exiting out of the back door of the home, wearing the body armor, and then firing a rifle into the couple’s vehicle.
Deputies would later discover about 30 guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition and additional ballistic vests inside Moreau’s home.
Moreau was also charged with domestic abuse, child endangerment, aggravated assault with a firearm, illegal discharge of a weapon, illegal discharge of a weapon during a crime of violence, illegal use of body armor during a crime of violence and flight from an officer.
He remains in the Calcasieu Correctional Center on a $247,000 bond set by Judge Ron Ware.
Det. Travis Lavergne is the lead investigator.