Westlake mayor-elect discovered killed in parking lot (12/31)FROM STAFF REPORTS
WESTLAKE — Gerald "Wash" Washington, the city's newly elected mayor, was found dead of a gunshot wound Saturday night in a parking lot. He was 57.
According to Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office personnel at the scene late Saturday, Washington's body was found next to his pickup truck at the old Mossville High School.
"We received a 911 call at 9:49 p.m. from a passerby who saw a body laying next to a vehicle," said Sheriff's Chief Deputy Gary "Stitch" Guillory. "We investigated and found a black male dead. We identified him as the mayor-elect of Westlake."
Guillory said Washington suffered a single gunshot wound and that a weapon was recovered at the scene. Deputies gave no indication where the bullet struck Washington or what type of gun it was.
Deputies early Sunday were waiting on a search warrant to examine Washington's truck.
Guillory said there were no functions going on at the building at 3301 Old Spanish Trail, which now houses the Calcasieu Parish School System Department of Special Services.
Washington was sworn in Dec. 19 to become Westlake's new mayor. He was elected this fall — defeating Paula Johnson 2-to-1 — to succeed Dudley Dixon, who retired after 24 years.
When he announced his candidacy, he told the American Press: "I would love to see Westlake become a model city for the rest of the world to see a place where everybody is somebody, a community that works together, plays together and reaches out to support and help each other at any time, not only when crises arise."
Upon swearing-in, he said, "We should be a model city. We need the people. We need to get our pride high in Westlake." The theme for the new government was "One City, One Team."
On Friday, he appeared at Dixon's retirement party and presented a jacket to him.
A Conoco retiree, Washington was a veteran member of the City Council and served as the city's mayor pro tempore.
He was a lifelong Westlake resident who graduated from Mossville High and attended Sowela and McNeese State. He was a medal winner as an Army soldier during the Vietnam War.
He co-founded the Westlake Boxing Club and served on the boards of the Calcasieu Women's Shelter and the American Red Cross' Lake Charles chapter.
Sounds like he was too clean for Louisiana politics.