Staff Reports

The pursuit and eventual jailing of Roderick Fields, 24, began the weekend of July 12 after he shot at two people in Bogalusa. Fields was quickly identified, and the Bogalusa Police Department began to look for him.
The search for Fields was intensified the night of July 14 when he emerged in the rural Mizell Loop Road area of south Washington Parish. He approached houses and females in the area in an attempt to engage them in conversation. He was rebuffed each time, but one of the women followed his car and was able to determine the type of vehicle he was driving, a Chrysler displaying an Oklahoma tag. The tag was registered to Fields.
Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies quickly responded and conducted a search of the area. They were unable to locate Fields that night.
Fields was sighted again early the morning of July 15, and the manhunt intensified, with deputies, detectives and narcotics officers from the Sheriff’s Office along with officers from the Bogalusa Police Department and Rayburn Correctional Center. A picture of Fields and a description of his vehicle and details of the manhunt were posted on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
Areas searched during the manhunt included the Mizell Loop Road and Isabel area, the City of Bogalusa, Louisiana Highway 21 south of Bogalusa and all areas in between.
During the manhunt, it was determined that Fields likely was hiding in an area ranging from the southeast sector of Bogalusa to just north of Sun. After a day-long hunt for the fugitive, he turned himself in at the Bogalusa Police Department. Fields admitted that the combination of seeing his picture on Facebook, along with the intense pressure from the manhunt, led to his decision to turn himself in.
Fields was booked into the Bogalusa City Jail late in the afternoon of July 15. He was transported to the Washington Parish Jail on July 17 and is being held on a charge of attempted second-degree murder. No bond had been set as of press time. Fields’ local address is listed as 1615 Ott St., Bogalusa.
Washington Parish Sheriff Randy Seal commented, “The Sheriff’s Office and the Bogalusa Police Department committed lots of man hours to the search for Fields. We considered him to be armed and dangerous and spared no resources in the manhunt. The intense pressure of the officers who were thoroughly combing the roads of the parish, coupled with the Facebook posting, worked together to bring Fields into custody. As I have stated before, we will spare no resources in searching out anyone who is a threat to the citizens of our parish. Everyone can rest better now that this fellow is in jail, where he belongs. I offer a heartfelt thanks to all of the Sheriff’s Office deputies, Bogalusa officers and Rayburn officers who worked hard to get Mr. Fields out of our community and behind bars.”