Officer, shot by chipmunk bandit, dies

A Mangham police officer, who was shot by Ville Platte’s chipmunk bandit, died on the morning of Thursday, November 5.
“It’s with great sadness and broken hearts that I, Chief Perry Fleming, and the Mangham Police Department have to inform you of the passing of Officer Marshall Waters PD3 who was shot in the line of duty on October 17, 2020. We ask that you please continue to pray for Marshall Waters family and the Mangham Police Department family during this time. RIP PD3,” the chief said in a statement.
Officer Waters, a 49-year-old part-time officer and Northeast Louisiana Ambulance Service EMT, was shot when he stopped Hermandus Dashanski Semien for speeding on La. Hwy 425 near the Franklin-Richland Parish line. Upon the traffic stop, it was learned the vehicle was stolen during an armed robbery at a pharmacy in Rayville.
After shooting the officer, Semien fled the scene and was later apprehended on Hwy 562 near Fort Necessity.
Semien was previously wanted by the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office for his alleged role in an armed robbery of Medicine Chest Pharmacy in Ville Platte while wearing a chipmunk costume on Saturday, September 19. Surveillance video showed an the armed suspect in a chipmunk outfit running from the store’s parking lot to the rear door of the store, forcing an employee back inside.
Once inside, the suspect escorted the employee through the store at gunpoint as she filled his bag with an undisclosed amount of narcotic medication.
After getting the undisclosed amount of medicine from the employee, the suspect walked out of the rear door of the store, and ran westbound towards a nearby apartment complex.
Semien remains in custody following the shooting and now faces a murder charge. Richland Parish District Attorney Penny Douciere, in a statement to the Richland Beacon News, said, “The charges against Semien have been upgraded due to the death of Officer Waters. The case will be presented to the Richalnd Parish grand jury after the investigation is completed. I have not received any reports yet, but the death penalty is a possibility under the charge of first degree murder. No decision has been made at this point about the death penalty, and it would be premature at this point to discuss. But please be assured we are going to do every thing in our power to see that justice is done for Marshall Waters.”