STPSO Reports High-Speed Pursuit and Arrests in Abita

Jeffrey Difatta (36) of Covington, wanted by St. Bernard Parish on drug charges, was apprehended Friday afternoon (September 7, 2018) after a lengthy chase that led St. Tammany Parish deputies from Abita Springs to Lacombe. Four others were arrested on numerous charges at a residence in the Abita Springs area.

Members of the STPSO Narcotics Task Force were preparing to execute a search warrant on an Abita Springs-area home when Difatta left the residence in a vehicle displaying a switched tag. Detectives attempted a traffic stop but Difatta's vehicle failed to stop and entered I-12 headed east toward Slidell. The high-speed pursuit ended near the approach to Hwy. 11. Deputies deployed spike strips and Difatta lost control of his vehicle when he swerved to miss the strips. Difatta's vehicle crashed first into another vehicle and then into a concrete barrier.

Difatta was taken into custody, transported to a local hospital as a precaution, and then booked as a fugitive, on drug charges, and on numerous charges related to the pursuit. The vehicle, which was struck by Difatta was occupied by two females, who were transported to a hospital where they were treated for minor to moderate injuries.

While the pursuit was going on, members of the Task Force returned to the Abita Springs-area home to complete the search warrant. As a result of that search warrant and previous surveillance at the residence, Task Force members arrested four persons, all from the Abita Springs area: Sarah Fanning (28) on charges of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Theft between $5000 and $25,000, Jeffrey Vinson (47) on numerous drug charges, Failure to Appear, and a previous DWI, Andrew Daquin (32) on drug and firearm charges, and Jeremy Meinecke (36) on Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.