A Louisiana man is charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a marshal trying to arrest him

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A Louisiana man has been accused of murder in the fatal shooting of a deputy U.S. marshal who joined other officers in trying to arrest him at his home after he failed to show up for trial on rape and sexual battery charges.

Clarence A. Frazier Jr., 48, of Alexandria, faces one count in federal court of murder of a federal officer, Deputy Marshal Drew Hanson, a crime punishable by either life in prison or death.

Authorities filed a complaint against him after he was taken into custody Monday, based on an FBI agent's affidavit, and a federal magistrate unsealed the complaint Tuesday.

Acting U.S. Attorney Todd Blanche said in a statement that Frazier would be “held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

A federal public defender representing Frazier did not immediately respond to telephone and email messages seeking comment.

Marshals and sheriff’s detectives entered Frazier’s home Monday to serve an arrest warrant for contempt of court and found him in a bedroom, the FBI agent, James Rimmer, said in his affidavit. According to other authorities, Frazier shot at the officers and fatally wounded Hanson.

He then barricaded himself in the bedroom and was arrested after a standoff, Rimmer said.

Frazier had a trial scheduled to start that day in Rapides Parish District Court in a case filed by prosecutors in 2024, according to online court records. He was charged with one count of third-degree rape, punishable by up to 25 years in prison, and one count of sexual battery on a person with infirmities, punishable by up to 20 years, according to court records.

Frazier was a registered sex offender, according to an online list maintained by the local sheriff's department, though it did not provide details about his previous conviction.