Captain Octavio Rafael "Ox" Gonzalez

Octavio Rafael "Ox" Gonzalez

Captain Octavio Gonzalez was shot and killed while participating in a manhunt for two suspects who had shot and wounded another deputy minutes earlier.

The wounded deputy and his partner were conducting a narcotics operation and had stopped a vehicle with out-of-state plates on U.S. Highway 51. As the deputies approached the vehicle, the driver opened fire on them, striking one of the deputies in the leg.

Both suspects then fled the scene as other units responded to the area. While Captain Gonzalez searched for the suspects in the Spring Meadow Subdivision in LaPlace at 1:20 a.m., he was distracted by a female posing as a stranded motorist. As he contacted dispatch, he was ambushed by the male suspect and shot in the back and side three times.

The male and female suspects then stole Captain Gonzalez's duty rifle and vehicle and fled into a residential area, where they took three people, including an elderly female and a young boy, hostage in their home. The shooter eventually surrendered after a standoff at the home.

The female suspect, a convicted felon, was sentenced to 40 years for three counts of kidnapping and 50 years for two counts of armed robbery. On April 1, 2008, the male suspect, a convicted felon, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole and an additional 50 years for the attempted murder of the deputy.

Captain Gonzalez had served with the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Department for 13 years and served as the commander of the Narcotics Division. He is survived by his wife and two sons.