A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (April 24) sentenced Jerman Neveaux to spend the rest of his life in prison, after Neveaux pleaded guilty to murdering Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Detective David Michel Jr. during an investigative stop in Harvey eight years ago.
Neveaux, 27, of New Orleans, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for avoiding a possible first-degree murder conviction and death sentence had his case gone to trial. His trial was scheduled to begin next week.
Detective Michel, assigned to the Sheriff’s Office Project Star Team, was driving to meet fellow officers for lunch on June 22, 2016, when he spotted Neveaux, then age 19, suspiciously following a man who was walking on Manhattan Boulevard during his lunch break.
Detective Michel stopped Neveaux at Manhattan Boulevard and Ascot Road. A physical altercation followed, and Neveaux shot Detective Michel three times in the back and fled. Detective Michel called out on the police radio, “I’m shot.” He died at a hospital later that day.
Just three weeks before he killed Detective Michel, Neveaux pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of illegal possession of stolen things in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, after police found he had a stolen pistol. He received probation for the misdemeanor conviction.
Then, on June 22, 2016, Neveaux was in possession of a stolen .38-caliber revolver when Detective Michel stopped him. He used that pistol to murder Detective Michel.
Evidence would have been presented during the trial that would have allowed the jury to conclude that Neveaux was going to use that pistol to commit an armed robbery of a pedestrian when he encountered Detective Michel.
Ascot Road has since been renamed Det. David Michel Jr. Drive.
On Wednesday, Judge June Berry Darensburg of the 24th Judicial District Court accepted Neveaux’s plea and sentenced him to life in prison without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.
Former Jefferson Parish Assistant District Attorney Doug Freese, now Chief of the Criminal Division for District Attorney Collin Sims’ Office, and Jefferson Parish Assistant District Attorneys Kristen Landrieu and Darren Allemand prosecuted the case.