Tangipahoa Parish authorities say alcohol appears to be a factor in the case of an Independence man who allegedly stole items from a man who gave him a ride just after midnight Friday morning.

A police spokeswoman says after a deputy responded to a report of a vehicle in a ditch on River Road, the officer found an abandoned car in the ditch.

The officer said he could smell a strong odor of alcohol coming from within the empty car.

As the deputy awaited a tow truck to haul away car, a man drove up and told the deputy that he’d given the driver of the wrecked vehicle a ride from the scene.

The man also told the cop that the suspect had stolen his iPhone and charger while in his car.

As the officer was talking to the victim about the stolen goods, the driver of the wrecked car drove up to the scene in another vehicle, according to investigators.

The deputy said that the suspect, 22-year-old Stephen Davis, “appeared to be extremely intoxicated” as he walked up to him.

After the deputy found the stolen cell phone on Davis, the deputy reported that he placed the suspect under arrest, then placed him in the back of the police cruiser.

The deputy’s report said that Davis started kicking the door and window of the cop’s car. The deputy reported after that he opened the door, the suspect tried to kick him several times in the legs.

The officer said he administered “a 1 second burst of O.C. spray to the facial area in attempt to subdue the suspect.”

Davis was later booked into the Tangipahoa Parish lockup on several charges.

- By Jay Vise | WWL

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