FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 5, 2019
FRANKLINTON—District Attorney Warren Montgomery reports that a Washington Parish jury found Gregory S. Stafford, 25, of Franklinton, guilty Tuesday (April 2) of aggravated obstruction of a highway. He was taken to jail and, as a multiple offender, faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced April 9 by District Judge Peter Garcia.
On Dec. 13, 2018, Stafford was driving a pickup truck on Highway 436 in the Franklinton area when he rammed the back of his estranged wife’s car, pulled up next to her in the opposing lane of traffic, and then pulled into her lane of traffic to force her off the road into a ditch. Stafford then walked to the passenger side of the vehicle, took her phone, and removed the couple’s 10-month-old child from the vehicle. Stafford put the baby in his truck and drove off.
A concerned citizen who was driving nearby saw the incident, called 911, and stopped to console the distraught victim. Stafford has a history of domestic violence against the victim, who sought a protective order against him after the incident last December and filed for divorce. He was convicted previously of burglary of an inhabited dwelling and accessory after the fact.
The Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, and Assistant District Attorney David A. Weilbaecher, Jr., prosecuted it.