“Come back tomorrow” — Tangipahoa Parish shootout wounds K-9 officer, leads to standoff with suspects

DISCLAIMER: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

BEDICO, La. (WGNO) — Three people were taken into custody after a shootout with deputies left a K9 officer wounded and led to SWAT roll in Tangipahoa Parish. However, before the standoff ended, deputies were met with an interesting request: to leave and come back.

Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Jimmy Travis says it all started around 10 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 1) when deputies were called to the Bedico Creed Lane trailer park off CC Road, east of Ponchatoula. Travis says the sheriff’s office had received several calls about two suspicious men walking around the area with a gun.

Shortly after arriving, deputies say the two men, identified as 52-year-old James Loyd and 21-year-old Thomas Loftis, almost immediately opened fire, leading to a shootout with authorities. While one deputy tried to take Loyd into custody, other detectives worked with K9 officer Bella to detain Loftis.

It was then that the TPSO says Loftis fired several shots, striking Bella in the jaw. Loftis and Loyd were able to escape the shootout but were found about a quarter-mile away, barricaded inside a camper on CC Road.

SWAT teams from the Hammond Police Department and Louisiana State Police were deployed alongside the TPSO Special Response Team and worked to negotiate a surrender of the two suspects. During the standoff, a 73-year-old woman named Charlotte O’Reagan exited the camper and told deputies to “come back tomorrow.” Her request was rejected.

As negotiation efforts continued to fail, the sheriff’s office says a chemical agent was released into the home around 2 a.m. — about four hours from the time deputies were called to the area. Loyd, Loftis, and O’Reagan were all taken into custody and charged in connection to the incident. Read their full list of charges below.

After being shot, K-9 Bella was rushed to MedVet in Mandeville to be treated. According to specialists, Bella sustained only soft tissue damage with no injuries to her teeth or the bones in her skull. The sheriff says Bella is expected to make a full recovery, praising the dog for her bravery.

“This incident could have ended much worse, and for that we are truly blessed that our deputies are safe and unharmed. K9 Bella also put her life on the line last night to protect her partner,” said Travis. “She performed her duties flawlessly and took a suspect’s bullet which may have been intended for one of our deputies. While we expect her to make a full physical recovery, it’s our hope she will also return to duty as some K9s are unable to do so after an injury involving gunfire. We love our K9s as members of the TPSO family and wish K9 Bella a speedy return to health.”

Booking Details for James Loyd, Thomas Loftis, and Charlotte O’Reagan

James Loyd

• Accessory to Attempted First Degree Murder (2 counts)
• Resisting an Officer by Force or Violence

Thomas Loftis

• Attempted First Degree Murder (2 counts)
• Injuring of a Police Animal

Charlotte O’Reagan

• Accessory to Attempted First Degree Murder (2 counts)