Confession: Ryan Sharpe, 36, was arrested in connection to three shootings in Louisiana after he called police and confessed
A suspected serial killer was arrested in Louisiana last week after he called a sheriff’s office and claimed responsibility for a string of shootings that killed three men and wounded a fourth, according to a law enforcement official.
Ryan Sharpe, 36, wasn’t a suspect in the shootings until he called the East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office last Wednesday and identified himself as the killer, said the official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
After the call ended, the sheriff’s office called Sharpe again but he didn’t answer, according to the official. However, Sharpe later called them back and once again identified himself as the shooter they were seeking, the official said.
The calls immediately led investigators to Sharpe’s home in Clinton, where officers saw him drive away in a white four-door Nissan Altima. They tried to pull him over but he led them on a high-speed car chase that eventually ended with his arrest, authorities said.
Sheriff Jeff Travis has said Sharpe confessed when investigators questioned him after his arrest, but the sheriff declined last week to say how authorities identified Sharpe as a suspect. Greg Phares, chief deputy for the sheriff’s office, said Tuesday that he couldn’t disclose any additional details of the investigation.
The Clinton plumber has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder in connection with four shootings since July in the same area, including a Boy Scout employee who was killed last Monday near the camp where he worked.
Sharpe (above being arrested) is accused of killing Thomas Bass, 62, on July 8, Carroll Breeden, 66, on September 19 and Brad DeFranceschi, 48, on Monday. Buck Hornsby, 47, was wounded on September 12
Sharpe (above being arrested) confessed to police that he committed the crimes during interrogation, authorities say.
A judge appointed the Baton Rouge-based public defender’s office to represent Sharpe, according to chief district defender Michael Mitchell, who said he couldn’t comment.
East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux would not comment on a motive in the drive-by shootings in East Feliciana and East Baton Rouge Parishes or say whether the suspect knew the victims.
The grant jury was supposed to receive Sharpe’s case on Tuesday, but The Advocate reported that it has been pushed back to November 13 after investigators learned new details on Monday that they hope would shed light on a motive.
Sharpe is accused of killing Thomas Bass, 62, on July 8, Carroll Glynn Breeden, 66, on September 19 and Brad DeFranceschi, 48, on Monday. Buck Hornsby, 47, was wounded on September 12 in a shooting that took place roughly 10 miles down Louisiana Highway 63 from DeFranceschi’s home.
Breeden, a former Baton Rouge parks official, and Hornsby both were near a road, but Bass was shot on his property.
Authorities began to pursue Sharpe last Wednesday around 2.50pm when he left his house in a white Nissan Altima, WBRZ reported.
That car matched the description of the shooter’s vehicle involved in the fatal incident at DeFranceschi’s home on Monday.
Sharpe then led police on a high speed chase across several parishes after not pulling over outside of his home in East Baton Rouge, authorities say.
According to his arrest report, he was eventually stopped and found to be armed with a lever action rifle on the passenger seat.
In the most recent shooting on Monday, DeFranceschi (above) was shot multiple times about 11.15am Monday in front of his house on camp property, East Feliciana Parish Sheriff Jeff Travis said. DeFranceschi was a former Navy submarine cook
Travis said that Hornsby (above) was shot while exercising near the roadside of his property on La. 63 on September 12
East Feliciana Parish Sheriff Travis said investigators have physical evidence that show Sharpe was behind the shootings. They did not reveal what that is.
But a bullet found near Breeden’s body on Pride-Port Hudson Road matched on found in the wall of DeFranceschi’s home, according to his arrest report.
In the most recent shooting on Monday, DeFranceschi was shot multiple times about 11.15am Monday in front of his house on camp property, Travis said.
The Avondale Scout Reservation website lists DeFranceschi as a camp ranger – someone who maintains the camp, which is located outside Clinton and about 29 miles north of Baton Rouge.
‘He was the face of Avondale,’ Nolan Reynerson, 34, who has worked and volunteered with Boy Scouts for much of his life, told The Advocate.
A week later, Carroll Glynn Breeden (right) was killed while he sprayed weeds near the road in the front yard of his home in Pride, which is located over the parish line from Clinton
At the time, police said that a vehicle drove by Breeden (right) and the shooter gunned him down
Courtesy of WAFB
He said DeFranceschi had worked there for 17 years and was a community cornerstone: ‘He put a smile on and wore his uniform proudly and was there for every event.’
Reynerson said DeFranceschi went beyond maintenance of the 1,600-acre campground, volunteering with his son’s and daughter’s scout troops, and used his experience as a Navy submarine cook to transform the camp food, improving the meals and opening a fruit and salad bar.
‘He’s become a staple in the camp,’ Reynerson said. ‘He did whatever was needed, whether it was fixing something at the camp, teaching kids merit badges … he was willing.’
Bass (right) was fatally shot while outside a house on Highway 63
Travis said that Hornsby was shot while exercising near the roadside of his property on La. 63 on September 12.
A week later, Breeden was killed while he sprayed weeds near the road in the front yard of his home in Pride, which is located over the parish line from Clinton.
At the time, police said that a vehicle drove by Breeden and gunned him down.
Then, on the morning of July 8, Bass was fatally shot while outside of house on Highway 63.
Travis said that Bass was found dead closer to his home, unlike the other shootings – which implies that the gunman would have had to walk onto the property.