Maya Lau

maya.lau@shreveporttimes.com

Mark Colby, 57, the man police believe fatally shot his romantic partner at the Shreve Island house they shared, was arrested in Mexico this morning around 11:15 a.m.

He is expected to be extradited to Texas today.

Colby, known as "Chef" to the Noble Savage Tavern crowd, was sought on a charge of second-degree murder. He was missing for nearly two days after his girlfriend Angela Godley, 53, was discovered lying on the floor with multiple gunshot wounds to her upper body in their house in the 1900 block of Bayou Drive.

Meantime, relatives and friends mourn the loss of the woman, one of the figures involved in a beloved downtown bar.

Colby opened Noble Savage Tavern on Texas Street in 1996. An alcoholic beverage permit application filed with the city shows Godley later assumed ownership of the bar, according to Scott.

The change in ownership came after Colby allegedly shot a firearm inside Noble Savage Tavern, according to Robert Brocato. The Many, Louisiana, doctor says Colby followed him into the bathroom one night in 2006, put a gun to his head, tilted the barrel and fired a shot past his ear. Brocato said he doesn't know why.

Colby was charged with illegal use of a weapon and ultimately pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated assault, court records show.

Brocato says some of his friends and supporters of the bar pressured him to drop charges against Colby for fear that the tavern might be forced to close. "The Noble Savage has a reputation in Shreveport. It's got a very strong following by its little crowd," Brocato said, noting that he too had shared "a lot of good times with good friends" at the tavern.

Shreveport native Phillip Jordan Brooks, a filmmaker who's moved to Denver, credits Godley with saving the bar after she took ownership of it. "She made it better and made it more of a community cornerstone. But I'm not taking anything away from Chef either, because his food was phenomenal."

Court records also show that Colby, among other charges, pleaded guilty to cruelty to animals in 2009 and, most recently, in May was booked on third-offense DWI.

Several people who frequent Noble Savage Tavern, where regulars drink out of earthen mugs with custom-engraved sayings or nicknames, declined to speak for this article. Many said they felt too shocked or conflicted about the tragedy that's at least temporarily closed the smoky, much-loved bar where live music plays most nights.

It's unclear whether its employees still have jobs. Shreveport police cars were parked outside the shuttered establishment most of Wednesday and Thursday.

Signs with ornery phrases decorate the joint, such as one in a menu that reads, "We don't sell this S#*T: Coors, Jagermeister, Southern Comfort, wine coolers, frozen drinks, Patron or Heineken. But we do have good liquor."

"What I appreciate about Chef is it was his restaurant, his food, his concept," Brooks said.

Twitter: @mayalau

TO HELP

Anyone with information about this crime should call Crime Stoppers at (318) 673-7373 or visit the organization's website.