A convicted felon fled a Lincoln Parish traffic stop last week when he realized a state trooper was about to find his illegal firearm.
Joe Dell Conley, 53, of Fort Worth, Texas, was arrested April 4 by Louisiana State Police for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and resisting an officer after running from a trooper and swimming through a swamp in an attempt to escape.
Conley was stopped on Interstate 20 about 2:30 p.m. for following another vehicle too closely. During the stop, the trooper smelled the strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. When the trooper moved to search the vehicle, Conley ran into the woods south of I-20 near milepost 96.
Other troopers arrived and Conley was pursued through the trees and into a swamp when he attempted to swim in the water. Troopers eventually closed in on Conley and took him into custody.
Conley said he ran because he was a felon and knew the gun would be found. A Hi-Point .40 caliber pistol was recovered.
Conley had previous convictions for multiple counts of child trafficking and prostitution, according to the trooper’s report.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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