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Head Hornet resigns

Written by Tiffany Flournoy

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

A Sarepta High School head coach accused of obstruction of justice and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile in connection to a 2009 fire, has resigned from his athletic post.

The Monday resignation by Coach John Bryant of Shreveport comes roughly two months after the Webster Parish School Board’s decision to place the 47-year- old on administrative leave after being arrested Dec. 3, 2009 on the above charges.

In a letter sent last week to school board Superintendent W.W. “Butch” Williams, Bryant requested the board accept his resignation.

Tuesday morning, Bryant cordially said that he would rather not comment on the decision to vacate the coaching post.

The charges placed on Bryant stem from a November fire, which occurred at a former Sarepta slaughterhouse that was being used by nearby Sarepta School for storage.

In December, Bryant’s son, 17-year-old Luke Daniel Bryant, 17-year-old George Smith of Sarepta and a 16-year-old were all charged with simple arson, making an incendiary device and criminal conspiracy.

Luke Bryant and Smith were also charged with contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.

The Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Arson Division and Webster Parish deputies took all four individuals into custody at Sarepta School.

According to the Webster Parish District Attorney’s Office, no court dates have been set for the Bryants or Smith.

Comments (2)

1 Written by bodcau_sailor, on 11-03-2010 15:05
Sarepta has lost a good coach. It will not be an easy task for Bryant to be replaced. I appreciate the work he did with the team. I know members of the school board will be looking at this article. I ask you as a citizen and a parent to have forgiveness for the coach and the children. These kids didn't burn down the new school. It was an abandoned and unsafe at best in 1992 when all eqipment was sold. It was a bad deed, but it did the school a favor. We the citizens of this town know it wasn't already torn down because of the cost of asbestos removal. Let's use comman sense here folks and remember boys will be boys.

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2 Written by xracer550, on 16-03-2010 01:54
I still can't figure out where advising your child of his constitutional rights is a crime. I know if it had been my kid, I would have told hime to tell the truth & face the music. But telling him he can (or should) keep his mouth shut is not a crime, not an obstruction of justice or contributing to any delinquency. Shame how one kid makes a stupid choice, and they run his family out of town.

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