A St. Tammany Parish deputy was shot and wounded by an armed 13-year-old burglary suspect, Sheriff Randy Smith said early Wednesday (May 25). The agency said the young suspect is in custody.
In connection with the shooting of a St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s deputy and the burglary of a local area business, a 13-year-old Waldheim area male has been arrested and booked into the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center on the following charges:
L.R.S. 14:27/30 Attempted First Degree Murder
L.R.S. 14:108.2 Resisting a Police Officer with Force or Violence
L.R.S. 14:108 Resisting an Officer
L.R.S. 14:34.2 B(3) Battery of a Police Officer, Injury Medical Attention
L.R.S. 14:62/I Simple Burglary
L.R.S. 14:95.8 Illegal Possession of a Handgun by a Juvenile
L.R.S. 14:69 Illegal Possession of Stolen Goods
Smith told Fox 8 that Deputy Kenneth Doby was shot as he and another deputy wrestled the suspect to the ground on the side of a road, after spotting him walking away from Backroads Mercantile, a grocery store near the intersection of state highways 21 and 1083 in Waldheim that had been burglarized around 3 a.m.
While effecting the arrest, Doby was shot once, “beneath the back of his bullet-proof vest,” Smith said. The four-year veteran of the St. Tammany agency continued assisting his partner with handcuffing the teen even after being shot, then was taken to Lakeview Regional Medical Center in Covington for emergency treatment.
“Right now, it looks like he’s going to have a full recovery,” Smith said. “We’re very lucky. … We’re just thankful he’s going to be OK, because it could’ve been a lot worse.”
Doby joined the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office in 2018, Smith said, after starting his law enforcement career in the sheriff’s offices of Tangipahoa and Washington parishes.
With St. Tammany, Doby was named “Deputy of the Quarter” in January 2020. A social media post said Doby “comes to work enthusiastic and demonstrates an exemplary work ethic. He faithfully handles his calls for service and is always willing to assist a teammate if needed. … His supervisors said he is the epitome of the definition of ‘hustle,’ and he understands and appreciates a team concept and seeks out the advice from experienced deputies.”
The post also mentioned Doby had an unspecified military background, which the agency said “has played a significant role in contributing to his polite, professional manner when interacting with citizens.”
