Two More Arrests in STPSO Sergeant’s Death

Two of the passengers in the vehicle that struck and killed St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Grant Candies early Sunday (March 23, 2025) morning have been arrested for First Degree Murder for the role they played in his death. 

The two arrests announced today (March 24, 2025) are of 17 year-old Mason Paul Eugene Fischer and 17 year-old Michael Emanuel Lanier, both of Slidell. Fischer is being booked for First Degree Murder, Attempted First Degree Murder, Possession with intent to distribute Schedule 1 and Obstruction of Justice. Lanier is being booked for First Degree Murder and Attempted First Degree Murder.

Shortly after midnight Sunday morning, Sgt. Candies was assisting with a pursuit by deploying a spike strip on Interstate 10 near the Oak Harbor Exit when he was struck by the perpetrator’s vehicle and killed. The pursuit began on Brownswitch Road, when a STPSO deputy attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a vehicle and the driver fled at high rate of speed, refusing to stop. The pursuit ended when the perpetrator’s vehicle crashed into an NOPD unit on the Southshore.

The vehicle was occupied by five individuals. The driver, 17 year-old Adrian Waughtal of Slidell, who was arrested and booked Sunday morning in Orleans Parish as a fugitive and was transported to St. Tammany Parish, where he was booked for Aggravated Flight, First Degree Murder and Attempted First Degree Murder.  

***All persons are innocent until proven guilty***

“I ask our community to please pray for Sgt. Candies’ family as well as his blue family – his coworkers and other members of law enforcement,” Sheriff Smith said. “Sgt. Candies death reiterates the dangers our deputies face every day when they put on their badge. While we grieve, we also honor and we remember a man who lived with purpose, who led with strength and who left behind a legacy that won’t be forgotten. His laughter, his wisdom and his drive will carry on in the deputies he mentored, in the family he adored and in the community he gave his life to protect. Thank you Sgt. Candies. We got it from here.”