Hunter Wayne Blanchard and Raven Leigh Cole (Jefferson Davis Parish Sheriff’s Office)
A 25-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman in Louisiana were arrested over the weekend after they allegedly used dangerous weapons in a fight against several teenage juveniles, beating them with a bat and a whip during a brawl on the side of the highway.
Hunter Wayne Blanchard and Raven Leigh Cole were both taken into custody on Sunday and charged with a spate of crimes over the violent encounter, jail records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Blanchard is charged with one count each of cruelty to juveniles, aggravated assault, second-degree aggravated battery, and disturbing the peace in a fistic encounter. Cole is facing three counts of aggravated assault, one count of cruelty to juveniles, and one count of aggravated second-degree battery.
According to a press release from the Jefferson Davis Parish Sheriff’s Office (JDPSO), deputies first caught wind of the fracas between the two parties on the evening of Sunday, May 14 while patrolling on Louisiana Highway 101 in Lacassine, which is located about 100 miles West of Baton Rouge. Authorities say that they were flagged down by a concerned passerby at about 6:30 p.m. who informed them about the fight.
The deputies responded to the location of the ongoing fight, which the release states was taking place “in the ditch on the south side of the interstate near the service road.” When the deputies arrived on the scene, Blanchard, Cole, and the juveniles allegedly attempted to flee the scene but were ordered to stop, the release states.
In questioning those involved in the brawl, the deputies learned that the inciting incident took place on the river in Oberlin, which is about 30 miles northeast of Lacassine. The dispute then continued while the two groups were in their vehicles until “one vehicle forced the other off the roadway where the deputies found them.”
After the vehicles had stopped, Blanchard and Cole allegedly got out of their car holding “a whip and a wooden bat” and then “fought with the juveniles” using the weapons, according to the release
Based on the sheriff’s release, it was not immediately clear which group forced the other off of the road. JDPSO did not immediately respond to a message from Law&Crime requesting additional details regarding the incident.
After deputies took control of the scene, both Blanchard and Cole were placed under arrest and booked into the Jefferson Davis Parish Jail. Records show that they both remained in detention as of Monday afternoon. A judge set their bond at $20,000 each, jail records show.
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Hunter Blanchard, Raven Cole beat kids with bat, whip: Cops