Bourg man charged in traffic death of Lafourche Parish deputy

Police have identified a Bourg man as the the suspect involved in the April 2 death of Det. Sgt. Nicholas Pepper of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Anthony H. Savoie, 33, had been held at a local hospital while receiving medical treatment for injuries sustained when he crashed his Chevrolet Tahoe into the marked units of Pepper and another deputy, according to Louisiana State Police. He was released from the hospital Wednesday and ultimately transported to the Terrebonne Parish Criminal Justice Complex for housing, police said.

Savoie has been booked on charges of first-degree murder of a police officer, attempted first-degree murder of a police officer, aggravated flight from an officer, and a warrant for failure to appear (32nd Judicial District Court). The Terrebonne Parish District Attorney’s Office will be handling the criminal proceedings.

Police said the crash occurred just before 5 a.m. April 2 on Louisiana 1 near Klienpeter Road in Thibodaux. According to investigators, an officer with the Houma Police Department attempted to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation, and the suspect fled the scene at a high rate of speed. Police pursued, and at one point during the pursuit, the suspect stopped. Officers attempted to negotiate with the suspect who then sped off again and rammed into a Lafourche Parish deputy’s unit stopped nearby, police said.

Pepper, 44, was pronounced dead at a local hospital. 

He began his career at the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office in 2007, serving in the investigations division. Prior to that, he served with the Houma Police Department and the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office. Pepper’s wife, Christie, is also employed through the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office as an investigator for the District Attorney’s Office. He also leaves behind two daughters, Patience and Gracie, and a son, Nicholas Jr.