Two charged with murder in killings of Louisiana cops

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Louisiana state police brought first-degree murder charges on Wednesday against two men being held in connection with a pair of shootings near New Orleans in which two police officers were killed, authorities said.

The new charges mean 24-year-old Brian Lyn Smith and 28-year-old Kyle David Joekel could face the death penalty if convicted of killing deputies Brandon Nielsen, 34, and Jeremy Triche, 27.

The officers were investigating the shooting and wounding of deputy Michael Scott Boyington, 33, at around 5 a.m. on August 16 in a Valero Energy Corp refinery parking lot during a shift change. The shooter fled.

While investigating the shooting in LaPlace, about 25 miles west of New Orleans, Nielsen and Triche ended up at a trailer park. St. John Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre said that as they were interviewing two suspects, a third person came from a trailer and fatally shot the two officers and wounded deputy Jason Triche, 30.

Smith and Joekel were among seven people charged last Friday in connection with the parking lot shooting.

St. John Parish District Attorney Thomas Dailey said in a statement on Thursday that his office would present the new charges against Smith and Joekel to the grand jury. The next regularly scheduled session of the grand jury is September 4.

The charge of murdering a police officer in the performance of duty automatically carries the death penalty under Louisiana law, according to New Orleans criminal defense lawyer Lindsay Larson. Capital cases must go before a grand jury.

The seven people suspected of being involved in the shootings are in custody at the St. Charles Parish Correctional Center. They include Terry Smith, 44, Derrick Smith, 22, Chanel Skains, 37, Brittney Keith, 23, and Teniecha Bright, 21, who face charges as principals or accessories to murder or attempted murder.

Authorities said Joekel was wanted in Kansas and Nebraska in connection with threats against law enforcement officers.

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Corrie MacLaggan)

Read More @ Source



Criminal Stories Here

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Homicide victim found at vacant Everett house

Image
EVERETT -- Police on Wednesday were canvassing the View Ridge-Madison neighborhood in Everett after a man was found dead there the night before. A neighbor spotted the man on the ground outside a vacant house at 22 Madison St. He called 911 about 6:20 p.m. The man had obvious signs of trauma to his torso, police said. He looked to be in his late 20s or early 30s. The Everett Major Crimes Unit is investigating the death as a homicide, Lt. Robert Goetz said. Detectives declined to say more about how they believe the man may have died. There are no identified suspects or motives. Detectives received a search warrant around 11:45 p.m. Tuesday and collected evidence at the scene. They returned Wednesday afternoon to look for clues in the daylight, Goetz said. The victim's identity had not been determined as of late Wednesday afternoon. The body was turned over to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office. Anyone with information is asked to call 425-257-8450. Rikki King: 425-
Keep reading

Manslaughter charges possible in boy's death

Image
Published: Thursday, August 23, 2012, 5:55 p.m. MONROE -- Detectives believe a 7-year-old Monroe boy's parents should face second-degree manslaughter charges in connection with his January overdose death. Monroe police this week wrapped up their probe into the boy's Jan. 30 death and forwarded the case to prosecutors to decide if his parents should face criminal charges. Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Lisa Paul likely will begin reviewing the case in the coming days. She doesn't expect to make a charging decision in the near future, however. "It's quite an extensive investigation, and I want to review it thoroughly before I make any decision," she said. The boy, identified as "A.J." in court papers, ingested a lethal amount of salicylates, a chemical common in aspirin and other over-the-counter drugs. The medical examiner declined to conduct an autopsy on the boy, making it difficult to determine how the drug ended up in the boy's system. A
Keep reading