Interim police chief wins by default

LAKE ARTHUR — Trenton Thames, a candidate for Lake Arthur police chief, has withdrawn from the Nov. 6 primary election due to an issue with residency.

“Even though I was living within the city limits of Lake Arthur for a year prior to qualifying I did not sign a lease until after I qualified,” Thames said. “I missed the qualification (requirement) by 17 days. Rather than take it to court, I went ahead and withdrew.”

Thames said he plans to seek the office in four years.

Meg Casper Sunstrom, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State, says the office received Thames’ withdraw on Friday, July 27.

Thames met the deadline to withdraw, so his name will not appear on the ballot, Sunstrom said.

His opponent, interim police chief Kobi Turner, is the only other candidate seeking the police chief’s position.

Turner, a former police officer for the Lake Arthur and Gueydan police departments, was named interim police chief in February by the town council following the death of Police Chief Ray Marcantel in January.

On Monday, Turner said he is excited and looking forward to serving for the next four years.

“Unfortunately he had to withdraw from the race, but I am looking forward to the future,” Turner said. “As much as we have been able to accomplish in the past few months, I look forward to even more from the police department.”

One of his main goals will be to continue to focus on the community by forming a relationship between police officers and local residents to continue to make the community a safe place to live for generations to come.

“We have been able to reach out and get the police officers to know who lives in town and we will continue to work toward that goal,” he said. “But we have also got some other ideas for the future that we are looking forward to accomplishing.”

‘As much as we have been able to accomplish in the past few months, I look forward to even more from the police department.’

Kobi Turner

Elected Lake Arthur police chief after other candidate withdraws

Kobi Turner