BOGALUSA, La. — A Washington Parish man faces multiple charges after allegedly shooting his passenger during an argument in the car, then dumping the body at a hunting club off the highway, the sheriff says.
According to Washington Parish Sheriff's Office officials, 29-year-old Joseph Anthony Peoples and 18-year-old Allison Cook were arrested Tuesday in connection to the death of Shawn Whiteside, 34, who was found at the entrance of a rural hunting camp on Highway 1072.
Peoples, who allegedly admitted to shooting Whiteside during an argument in the car, faces second-degree murder and a sentence of life in prison if convicted. Cook was charged with helping him dump the body and obstruction of justice.
WPSO officials said deputies were first called to the camp after a driver witnessed Whiteside's body left there and a vehicle speed away from the scene.
Working with the Bogalusa Police Department, deputies began the search for the described vehicle and quickly spotted in at a house on Denham Avenue in Bogalusa. Peoples and Cook were found inside and questioned. That's when Peoples allegedly told deputies he was driving Whiteside when they got into an argument and he shot him.
The two were taken to the Washington Parish Jail. Peoples' bond was set at $750,000 and Cook's at $15,000.
According to WPSO records, Peoples had previously been arrested several times over the last year, for possession of stolen property in 2013, burglary, and armed robbery in 2016 and being a convicted felon with a gun in 2017.
“This murder was solved quickly due to the hard work of our detectives and Bogalusa Police Department detectives," said Sheriff Randy Seal.
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