Arrests made in fatality crash case of Franklinton resident

COVINGTON (AP) — Both drivers involved in a drag race that claimed the lives of two passengers in rural St. Tammany Parish last week have been arrested, authorities said Monday.

The drivers face charges including negligent homicide and drag racing, which is banned under a state law that was recently amended to include stiffer penalties for informal competitions that result in injuries or death.

Charles Patrick Mullen, 19, was racing his friend Dean Barry Jiles, 19, near Goodbee on Wednesday afternoon when Mullen lost control of his car on a curve and crashed into trees along the road. Two of his passengers, Christopher A. Titus, 31, of Covington, and James "Aaron" Randol, 20, of Franklinton, were killed. Mullen and another passenger, a 17-year-old woman from Madisonville, were injured in the crash.

Mullen and Jiles each were booked into the St. Tammany Parish jail in Covington with two counts of negligent homicide, one count of negligent injuring, one count of reckless driving and one count of drag racing on public roads, Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. George Bonnett said. Mullen also was booked with one count of driving without a license, Bonnett said.

Jiles' pickup truck, which he had upgraded to increase its speed, did not crash into Mullen's car, according to Mullen and Sheriff's Office investigators.

"The fact that they were drag racing was clearly a case of criminal negligence that led to the deaths of two passengers in the car," Bonnett said. "They're both responsible because they were both racing."

St. Tammany Parish deputies arrested Jiles on Saturday at his home. Mullen, who was staying with a friend in Tangipahoa Parish, was arrested by Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office deputies in Ponchatoula.

Mullen, of Hammond, and Jiles, of Goodbee, were not arrested immediately after the accident because investigators needed time to examine evidence and determine exactly what happened, Bonnett said.

Both Mullen and Jiles are being held on bonds of more than $180,000.

Bonnett said deputies take drag racing very seriously and regularly stop offenders.