Author: Paul Purpura

Kintez “Kutta” Johnson gets life sentence for murdering Reginel Golman

A Jefferson Parish judge on Tuesday (Oct. 29) sentenced Kintez “Kutta” Johnson to life in prison for his conviction of shooting a man to death as he sat in a car outside a Marrero convenience store.

Johnson, 23, of Harvey, was convicted by a jury earlier this month of the second-degree murder of Reginel Golman, 30. Golman’s girlfriend was seated in the car next to him when Johnson opened fire, but she was not physically injured.

Johnson also was convicted of aggravated assault with a firearm, with the victim being Golman’s girlfriend. The jury additionally found him guilty of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and of obstruction of justice – for getting rid of the gun he used to kill Johnson.

Golman suffered 15 gunshot wounds on the evening of Sept. 23, 2022, as he sat in the passenger’s seat of a car parked outside the business at Fourth Street and Ames Boulevard. He died shortly afterward.

Click here to read more about the trial.

After denying post-verdict defense motions and hearing impact testimony from Golman’s girlfriend, Judge Shayna Beevers Morvant of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Johnson to the mandatory life sentence in prison without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

Judge Beevers Morvant sentenced Johnson to 10 years for the aggravated assault and ran it consecutive to the life sentence; 15 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm; and 20 years for obstruction of justice.

Assistant District Attorneys Matthew Whitworth and LaShanda Webb prosecuted the case.

‘You were the only demon,’ judge tells murderer Jerry Gelpi in sentencing him to life in prison

A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (Oct. 9) sentenced Jerry Gelpi to life plus 40 years in prison for his conviction of brutally stabbing his neighbor Charles Davis to death in Old Jefferson and then obstructing justice by eliminating evidence tying him to the crime.

“Mr. Gelpi, you’re going where you deserve to be,” 24th Judicial District Court Judge Frank Brindisi told Gelpi in sending him to prison for the rest of his life.

A Jefferson Parish jury last week rejected Gelpi’s insanity defense and found him guilty as charged of the first-degree murder of Davis, 68. Gelpi and Davis lived in the same apartment building in the 400 block of Highway Drive in February 2021.

Click here to read about the trial.

Gelpi, 42, gained access to Davis’s apartment and attacked him in the bathroom, stabbing him at least 16 times. Gelpi initially took steps to hide his involvement, including cleaning blood from the kitchen floor and discarding his bloody clothing and the murder weapon.

But when Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives gathered evidence tying him to the crime, Gelpi began feigning a mental defect to escape criminal liability. He later pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He testified that he is the “son of God” and that Davis was “a demon” who needed to die.

“You accused this man of being a demon,” Judge Brindisi told Gelpi on Wednesday. “You were the only demon that day.”

The judge rejected defense motions to overturn the jury’s verdict and for a new trial. He additionally heard victim-impact testimony from four of Davis’s family members, including a daughter who’ll mark her birthday next week without well-wishes from her father.

“Knowing that I can never get that phone call again is heartbreaking,” she testified.

Davis’s sister told the court, “I will never get a chance to hug him to speak with him to tell him how much I love him … or just to hear him say, ‘Sis, you alright?’”

Judge Brindisi sentenced Gelpi to the mandatory life sentence in prison without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. He additionally sentenced Gelpi to 40 years in prison for obstruction of justice, which is the maximum punishment for that offence. He ran the sentences consecutively. The judge also fined Gelpi $100,000.

Assistant District Attorneys Tommy Block and Lindsay Truhe prosecuted the case.

William Frye sentenced to 65 years for bank robbery, carjacking and kidnapping

A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (Oct. 9) sentenced William Frye to 65 years in prison for his convictions of robbing a Jefferson bank and then forcibly taking a grandmother’s car with her 18-year-old daughter in the back seat as he made his getaway.

Frye, 47, was convicted as charged last month of two counts of simple robbery, carjacking and second-degree kidnapping in connection with the Nov. 30, 2022 crimes.

“I do believe you’re a menace to the good people of Jefferson Parish,” 24th Judicial District Court Judge Frank Brindisi told Frye. “On that day, you were a one-man crime wave. You terrorized everybody.”

Click here to read about the trial.

Frye entered the bank branch in the 3600 block of Jefferson Highway about 1:15 p.m., threatening to harm the tellers if they did not give him cash. He fled on foot with cash and carjacked the woman and her two grandchildren outside a business in the 3500 block of Berwick Street.

The teen who was in the back seat of that vehicle jumped out a back door and suffered a broken pelvis as she landed in the street.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives and FBI agents tracked Frye to an Airline Drive motel and arrested him later that day.

Frye’s criminal history dates back to the early 1990s and includes a conviction in federal court of robbing the same bank branch he was convicted of robbing last month, the judge noted said before announcing his sentencing, citing a pre-sentencing memorandum.

“I don’t think you can be rehabilitated,” Judge Brindisi told Frye. “I think you’re an incorrigible criminal.”

Judge Brindisi sentenced Frye to 35 years for the kidnapping, 20 years for the carjacking and five years for each of the two simple robbery counts. He ran the sentences consecutively, for a total of 65 years.

Assistant District Attorneys Eric Cusimano and Taylor Somerville prosecuted the case.

 

 

Kintez ‘Kutta’ Johnson convicted of murdering Reginel Golman in Marrero

A Jefferson Parish jury on Wednesday (Oct. 2) found Kintez “Kutta” Johnson guilty of shooting a man as he sat in a car outside a Marrero convenience store two years ago, killing him.

Johnson, 23, of Harvey, was convicted as charged of the second-degree murder of Reginel Golman, 30.

On the evening of Sept. 23, 2022, Golman and his girlfriend were seated in a vehicle parked outside a business at Fourth Street and Ames Boulevard when Johnson, wearing a mask, approached. He and Golman spoke for a moment. Johnson then brandished a semiautomatic pistol and shot Golman as he sat in the front passenger’s seat.

Johnson’s girlfriend tried to drive away but then sought refuge inside the store – its owners rushed to lock the doors after hearing gunfire. She returned to the car. Golman was still alive.

“Take me home by my momma,” Golman told her. She sped to his mother’s home on nearby Silver Lilly Lane, where 911 was called. Golman died there, slumped over in the front passenger’s seat.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives quickly identified Johnson as the suspect, through witnesses and through the convenience store’s video security system. Johnson was arrested days later at a motel in New Orleans East.

About an hour before the homicide, Golman and his girlfriend were at a home in Marrero when Johnson appeared at the home. It was during that time that Golman’s brother happened to call their niece from the north Louisiana prison where he is incarcerated. Golman then got on the phone with his brother.

Prison phone calls are recorded, so jurors were able to hear Golman tell his brother that Johnson told him that there was “a bag on my head,” meaning someone wanted him dead. Golman’s family urged him to not leave with Johnson, whose identity was acknowledged during the recorded phone call.

Nonetheless, Golman and his girlfriend drove to the convenience store, with Johnson in the back seat. Golman got out of the car and went inside. He asked his girlfriend to drive Johnson to a nearby apartment complex. She did so and returned to the store, where Golman got into the front passenger’s seat.

That’s when Johnson walked up, spoke with Golman and began shooting. Johnson then fled on foot. In total, 10 spent bullet casings were recovered that were tied to Johnson’s pistol. Golman suffered from 15 bullet wounds, some caused by the same bullets that entered his body, exited and entered other body parts.

In addition to second-degree murder, jurors found Johnson guilty of three other charges:

  • Aggravated assault with a firearm. The victim was Golman’s girlfriend, who was seated in the driver’s seat when Johnson opened fire but was not physically injured.
  • Convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Johnson was prohibited from possessing firearms because of a prior felony conviction. In 2020, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm while possessing heroin and to six counts of illegal discharge of a firearm.
  • Obstruction of justice. Johnson hindered the investigation into Golman’s death by tampering with evidence — getting rid of the firearm. The firearm turned up in a bar in Kenner on Oct. 7, 2022. Police were summoned to the bar because an intoxicated customer passed out. That customer had a duffle bag that contained a firearm. Ballistics experts determined that the firearm was used in Golman’s killing. The intoxicated man had no connection to Golman’s homicide and no known connection to Johnson.

Suggesting self-defense, Johnson’s attorney told jurors that Golman had a gun in the vehicle with him when he was shot; a gun was never found. The attorney said witnesses lied, and there was no forensic evidence tying Johnson to Golman’s death. He urged jurors to acquit Johnson.

The jury, which was seated on Monday, deliberated about 2 1/2 hours before returning with its unanimous verdicts.

Judge Shayna Beevers Morvant of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Johnson on Oct. 29.

Assistant District Attorneys Matt Whitworth and LaShanda Webb prosecuted the case.

Jerry Gelpi convicted in brutal stabbing death of 68-year-old neighbor Charles Davis

A Jefferson Parish jury deliberated 24 minutes Wednesday night (Oct. 2) in finding Jerry Gelpi guilty of fatally stabbing his neighbor in an Old Jefferson apartment, rejecting his assertion that a mental defect prevented him from knowing right from wrong when he murdered the man.

Gelpi, 42, was convicted as charged of the first-degree murder of Charles Davis, 68, who died in the bathtub of his second-floor apartment in the 400 block of Highway Drive in February 2021.

In his final months of life, Davis struggled with Covid-19 and its lingering effects. A forklift driver who rode his bicycle to work several miles from his home each day, Davis became infected with Covid-19 in April 2020 and was hospitalized for three months. The virus killed his live-in girlfriend while he was hospitalized. Although he survived, he was severely weakened, having lost 70 pounds. He required auxiliary oxygen and was undergoing long-term rehabilitation.

Gelpi, who lived in the apartment beneath Davis’s, gained access to Davis’s apartment. According to the crime scene reconstruction, Gelpi attacked Davis in the entrance to his bathroom. During the struggle, Gelpi stabbed Davis in the neck. Davis’s sink was knocked off the wall. Davis was either pushed or fell into the bathtub, where Gelpi continued to stab him – in all, at least 16 times. Davis’s wounds included cuts to his right hand, showing that he was trying to defend himself.

Gelpi then went to the kitchen sink to clean the blood from his hands and returned to his apartment seven minutes after he walked up to Davis’s apartment.

Davis’s daughter found his body on the morning of Feb. 9, 2021, when she investigated why he was not responding to phone calls. She found the front door unlocked and discovered his clothed body curled in the fetal position in the bathtub. His wallet was missing.

In the early stages of the investigation, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives questioned neighbors and looked at surveillance videos to determine who went to Davis’s apartment. Someone was seen walking from Gelpi’s apartment at 1:27 a.m., and then returning to Gelpi’s apartment at 1:34 a.m., carrying a bag.

When questioned by detectives, Gelpi denied knowledge of the homicide. He initially denied ever being in Davis’s apartment. He gave detectives the name of a local homeless man as a suspect. He presented no hint of mental illness.

Detectives investigating Gelpi’s background then found two criminal matters that involved his use of knives in crime:

  • On Sept. 11, 2020, Gelpi got into an altercation with two young men of Middle Eastern descent who were browsing video games at a Walmart in Kenner. Gelpi stood close to the men without wearing a mask, leading the men to ask Gelpi to step back because of their concerns about Covid-19. Gelpi then asked them about their language and struck one of the men in the head without provocation, leading to a physical altercation where Gelpi brandished a knife and began to threaten the men. One of the men pulled out his mobile device and began videotaping the encounter. Once Gelpi saw he was being recorded, he put the knife away and fled. Kenner police arrested Gelpi.
  • On Nov. 8, 2013, Gelpi was in Springfield, Ohio, where he was caught shoplifting at a pharmacy store. He used a knife to cut open packaging for teeth whitening strips before pocketing them. When confronted by the loss-prevention officer, Gelpi brandished the knife, threatened to stab the man and ran out with the stolen goods. Gelpi later was convicted of felony robbery, and as such, his DNA profile was entered into a national database.

Later in February 2021, detectives got a hit from the national DNA database that linked Gelpi to Davis’s apartment. Gelpi’s DNA was under Davis’s fingernails and on the kitchen faucet he used to wash the blood from his hands. They obtained an arrest warrant and returned to the apartment building in time to find Gelpi arriving on a bicycle. He was carrying a knife.

They searched his apartment and found five tactical knives. The Sheriff’s Office’s Digital Forensic Unit searched Gelpi’s computer browser history and found searches for information about knife fighting and about stabbing people in their kidneys, hearts and lungs.

It was only after his arrest that Gelpi began asserting mental illness. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

At trial, Gelpi testified Wednesday that he is “the son of God,” that he was not in control of himself when he killed Davis, and that he did so because he believed that Davis was “the strongest demon in my experience.” He pointed to detectives seated in the courtroom and said they were demons. Gelpi’s attorney argued that he was insane at the time he stabbed Davis and so could not be held criminally responsible for Davis’s death.

In rebuttal, prosecutors presented evidence about Gelpi’s pretrial stint in the state mental hospital in Jackson, La., to where he was sent for the sole purpose of determining whether he was mentally competent to stand trial.

While in the hospital, Gelpi alleged there were demons present but otherwise exhibited no true signs of mental illness. The doctors concluded that Gelpi was malingering, or fabricating mental illness symptoms to achieve his needs.

A separate doctor evaluated Gelpi to determine whether he was criminally insane when he killed Davis. That doctor also concluded Gelpi is malingering and found that Gelpi’s behaviors when killing Davis and afterwards show he knew right from wrong. For instance, he waited until late at night when no one was around to kill Davis, and he cleaned up the blood afterwards to conceal his involvement in the crime. Further, he disposed of his bloody clothing and the murder weapon, which he threw in the Mississippi River.

Prior to his arrest, Gelpi was never diagnosed with or treated for a psychotic disorder. However, he had a history of such feigning disorders.

After enlisting in the Navy to avoid punishment for a criminal matter, Gelpi faked a mental illness so he could be discharged in 2004. After his arrest for killing Davis, the Sheriff’s Office’s Digital Forensic Unit discovered an email Gelpi sent to an acquaintance in which he boasted about lying to the judge overseeing the Ohio robbery case. Gelpi told the judge he had a substance abuse problem in order to get leniency, “and the judge bought it,” he told the acquaintance.

The jury that was seated on Monday returned with its unanimous verdicts at 9:15 p.m. The District Attorney’s Office did not seek the death penalty, meaning life without parole, probation or suspension of sentence is mandatory for the murder.

Gelpi also was found guilty as charged of obstruction of justice, for eliminating evidence.

Judge Frank Brindisi of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Gelpi on Wednesday (Oct. 9).

Assistant District Attorneys Tommy Block and Lindsay Truhe prosecuted the case.

William Frye guilty in Jefferson bank robbery, carjacking, kidnapping

A Jefferson Parish jury deliberated less than an hour on Wednesday evening (Sept. 25) in finding William Frye guilty of robbing a Jefferson Highway bank before forcibly taking a car from a nearby family and speeding away with a teenager in the back seat.

Frye, 47, of Jefferson’s Shrewsbury neighborhood, was convicted as charged of two counts of simple robbery, carjacking and second-degree kidnapping.

Wearing a hooded shirt and erratically waving a white pillowcase, Frye stormed into a bank branch in the 3600 block of Jefferson Highway at about 1:15 p.m., on Nov. 30, 2022, threatening deadly violence and demanding that the tellers turn over cash.

He threw the pillowcase at two tellers, ordering them both to fill it. They complied. He then fled on foot, dumping his gloves, the pillowcase and the hoodie in a Sizeler Avenue back yard before hopping a resident’s fence and emerging in the 3500 block of Berwick Street.

At that time, a woman and two family members arrived at a Berwick Street business. The woman alone had exited the car but left the engine running. Frye jumped into the driver’s seat, rebuffing another family member’s attempts to physically remove him.

Frye sped away with an 18-year-old woman in the back seat. About 25 yards away, the terrified teenager jumped out of a back door, breaking her pelvis and she hit the roadway.

After striking a parked car and continuing, Frye abandoned the car less than a mile away, at Scott Street and Saia Lane. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, which launched a manhunt that included the agency’s helicopter, quickly obtained information identifying Frye as the suspect.

Detectives and FBI agents tracked Frye to a motel in the 5700 block of Airline Drive, where he had been renting a room. After conducting surveillance, agents located Frye walking out of the room. When he saw the law enforcement officers, Frye fled on foot. He was captured a short distance away.

Frye left the motel that morning, telling the manager he would pay for his room that day but that he had to go to the bank, first. Detectives later obtained images from the motel’s security system of Frye leaving the business that morning. He wore the same clothing as the robber.

In Frye’s pocket when he was arrested, detectives found cash that was directly linked to what was stolen from the bank. In the motel room he occupied, detectives found cash stuffed under the mattress. One of the white pillowcases was missing.

Further, the Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab found Frye’s DNA on the steering wheel of the car he stole and in one of the gloves he wore during the robbery, which he dumped in the Sizeler Avenue backyard.

From her hospital room, where she underwent surgery, the teenaged kidnapping victim read an online news report about the bank robbery that included Frye’s booking mugshot. She alerted detectives, confirming that Frye was the carjacker.

Frye denied committing the crimes. His attorney argued that the Sheriff’s Office arrested the wrong suspect.

The jury, which was seated Tuesday and heard two days of testimony, deliberated 49 minutes before returning with its unanimous verdicts.

Judge Frank Brindisi of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Frye on Wednesday (Oct. 2).

Assistant District Attorneys Eric Cusimano and Taylor Somerville prosecuted the case.

Myron Lee sentenced to life plus 89 1/2 years in prison in the murder of fellow National Guardsman

A Jefferson Parish judge on Thursday (Sept. 19) sentenced Myron Lee to life plus 89 ½ years in prison for his conviction in the death of a fellow citizen soldier who was shot during a botched armed robbery attempt.

Lee, 22, of Gonzales, was convicted as charged this month in the death of Jemond Cador, 21, who was shot seven times in his Terrytown apartment on Dec. 6, 2021, after he fought back against the armed intruders.

Click here to read about the verdict.

Lee and Cador were members of the same Louisiana Army National Guard unit. Lee recruited cohorts to rob Cador, providing them with firearms and transportation to the West Bank from the Baton Rouge area to carry out the crime.

Lee kicked in the apartment entry door and immediately was met with physical resistance by Cador. In response, one of Lee’s cohorts, Gerald Little, shot Cador, killing him. Little was the only person to discharge a weapon.

A Jefferson Parish jury on Sept. 5 found Lee guilty as charged of second-degree murder, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Calling the crime “egregious,” 24th Judicial District Judge Jacqueline Maloney on Thursday sentenced Lee to the mandatory life sentence for the murder, 40 years for obstruction of justice and 49 1/2 years for the conspiracy – the maximum sentences for the latter charges. She ran the sentences consecutively.

“I hope you’re ashamed of yourself every day for the rest of your life,” Judge Maloney told Lee before ordering him to “sit down” in concluding the sentencing hearing.

A look at Lee’s codefendants’ cases shows:

  • Little, 21, of Loranger, who shot Cador, was convicted as charged of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit armed robbery by a jury on Oct. 18, 2023. He was sentenced to life in prison.
  • Isaiah White, 22, of Covington, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and conspiracy to commit armed robbery on July 18, 2023 and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
  • Kewane K. Edwards, 24, of Harvey, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and conspiracy to commit armed robbery on Aug. 16, 2023 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
  • Matthew Kerry Smith, 22, of Covington, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and conspiracy to commit armed robbery on Nov. 20, 2023 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Assistant District Attorneys Zach Grate and Alyssa Aleman prosecuted Lee’s and Little’s trials.

 

Myron Lee, mastermind behind botched Terrytown armed robbery, convicted of murder

A Jefferson Parish jury on Thursday evening (Sept. 5) found Myron Lee guilty of his role as the mastermind behind an armed robbery that left his victim – a fellow Louisiana National Guardsman – shot to death.

Lee, 22, of Gonzales, is guilty as charged of the second-degree murder of Jemond Cador, 21, who was shot seven times in his Terrytown apartment on Dec. 6, 2021, the jury unanimously found.

Lee and Cador were acquainted through the Army National Guard unit to which they were assigned. A week before the homicide, Lee visited Cador at his apartment in the 200 block of Wright Avenue. Shortly after, Lee conceived the plan to rob Cador.

“In his own words, he was tired of being broke,” Assistant District Attorney Zach Grate told jurors Wednesday morning in opening statements.

Lee recruited four others to help in the robbery. Without receiving permission, he took two semiautomatic pistols from his stepfather. Lee also obtained from his stepfather an AR-15-style rifle, which was unloaded but used as an intimidation tactic. He supplied masks to his cohorts and drove them to Cador’s apartment complex.

Lee kicked in the apartment door. Just inside, Cador resisted, leading to a physical fight with Lee. Armed with one of the pistols that Lee provided, one of Lee’s cohorts, Gerald Little, opened fire. Cador died almost immediately. Little was the only perpetrator to discharge a weapon.

The five men fled. Driving a black 2008 GMC Yukon, one of Lee’s cohorts was traveling at more than 20 mph over the speed limit on Interstate 10 just west of Kenner when a Louisiana State Police trooper pulled him over.

Unaware of their involvement in the homicide, the trooper ordered the five men out of the SUV. The trooper found the firearms, ordered background checks on the weapons, and learned they were not reported stolen. Neither Lee nor his cohorts were wanted. The trooper issued speeding citation, and the suspects drove on.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office obtained surveillance video from Cador’s apartment complex and saw four of the five suspects going to the apartment (one of the suspects remained in the SUV). Unable to clearly see the SUV’s license plate in the video, but seeing that the vehicle had damage, detectives used the license plate recognition system cameras to identify the suspects’ vehicle, leading to arrests.

Following his arrest at his Gonzales residence on Dec. 13, 2021, Lee confessed to planning the robbery, recruiting cohorts and executing the plan. Detectives also recovered evidence from Lee’s cell phone that tied him to the murder scene.

Lee is the last of five codefendants who have been convicted or pleaded guilty for their roles in Cador’s death. A look at Lee’s codefendants shows:

  • Little, 21, of Loranger, who was the only shooter, was convicted as charged of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit armed robbery by a jury on Oct. 18, 2023. He was sentenced to life in prison.
  • Isaiah White, 22, of Covington, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and conspiracy to commit armed robbery on July 18, 2023 and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. White was armed with a firearm that Lee provided.
  • Kewane K. Edwards, 24, of Harvey, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and conspiracy to commit armed robbery on Aug. 16, 2023 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
  • Matthew Kerry Smith, 22, of Covington, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and conspiracy to commit armed robbery on Nov. 20, 2023 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Lee’s attorneys said he never intended for Cador to be killed. They told jurors that Lee conceived a “flawed plan fueled by youthful ignorance and foolish decisions.” Cador was killed because Little “panicked” and opened fire. They urged jurors to find Lee not guilty.

Jurors who were seated on Tuesday and began hearing evidence Wednesday deliberated about 1 hour and 45 minutes before returning to the courtroom with their verdicts just before 6 p.m., Thursday.

In addition to second-degree murder, the jurors convicted Lee of obstruction of justice for eliminating evidence connecting him and his cohorts to the crime, and of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Judge Jacqueline Maloney of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Lee on Sept. 16.

Assistant District Attorneys Zach Grate and Alyssa Aleman prosecuted Lee’s and Little’s cases.

Truck driver pleads guilty to killing bicyclist on Marrero’s River Road

A Jefferson Parish judge on Monday (Aug. 26) sentenced truck driver Philemon Lyons-Feemster to three years of active probation, after the defendant pleaded guilty to causing the death of a bicyclist on River Road in Marrero last year.

Lyons-Feemster, 29, a Lake Charles resident, pleaded guilty as charged to negligent homicide in the death of Pedro Manzuela-Villa, 32, of Belle Chasse.

Just before 9 a.m., on April 4, 2023, Manzuela-Villa was riding his bicycle with the flow of traffic on River Road when he entered a sharp S-curve in the roadway just east of Robinson Avenue. The bicyclist, who was wearing a helmet and was training for a bicycling competition, was riding on the extreme right edge of the roadway.

Lyons-Feemster was driving behind him in a 2019 International truck pulling a petroleum tanker trailer. He attempted to pass the bicyclist in the no-passing zone in the S-curve.

As the tractor-trailer entered the curve, the trailer’s right rear wheels left the roadway. Manzuela-Villa was struck by the side of the tanker trailer and knocked to the ground. He fell beneath the rear wheels and died at the scene.

Louisiana State Police initially cited Lyons-Feemster with a state traffic violation that limits when motorists can pass bicyclists. Known as the Colin Goodier Bicycle Protection Act, the law requires motorists to maintain at least three feet of space between their vehicles and bicycles. The law also allows motorists to pass bicyclists in no-passing zones only when it is safe to do so.

Video obtained from the cab in which Lyons-Feemster drove and his cell phone records show he was speaking with someone on the phone at the time he entered the S-curve and that he was aware of the bicyclist ahead of him.

Upon reviewing the case, the District Attorney’s Office charged Lyons-Feemster with negligent homicide.

After hearing victim-impact testimony from Manzuela-Villa’s girlfriend on Monday, Judge Stephen Enright of the 24th Judicial District Court, in accepting the guilty plea, sentenced Lyons-Feemster to five years in prison – the maximum punishment for negligent homicide. Judge Enright suspended the sentence and ordered Lyons-Feemster to serve three years of active probation.

Assistant District Attorney Molly Love prosecuted the case.

Gerald McKnight pleads guilty to Gretna drunk-driving death, gets 5-year sentence

A Jefferson Parish judge on Monday (Aug. 12) sentenced Gerald McKnight to five years in prison, after he pleaded guilty to causing the death of a woman while driving under the influence on the West Bank.

McKnight, 42, pleaded guilty as charged to vehicular homicide in the Dec. 15, 2022 death of Tricia Cook. The 72-year-old woman was a passenger in the rear seat of a taxicab that was traveling west on the elevated Westbank Expressway near Lafayette Street.

At about 11:45 p.m., the 66-year-old taxi driver, Eliot Theophile, stopped in his Ford Crown Victoria in the right lane because of traffic congestion, as he was attempting to take the Lafayette exit.

McKnight, driving an Acura MDX, rear-ended the taxicab. The taxicab struck another vehicle, whose driver fled the scene.

The impact sent Cook, who was not restrained, over the front seat and into the driver’s compartment. She was killed. Theophile was injured.

The Louisiana State Police observed McKnight exhibiting signs of intoxication. He performed poorly in a field sobriety test. A breath test showed his blood-alcohol content was .098 percent.

In addition to the vehicular homicide charge, McKnight pleaded guilty to vehicular negligent injury and failing to wear a seatbelt, both misdemeanors.

After hearing victim-impact testimony, 24th Judicial District Court Judge Jacqueline Maloney sentenced McKnight to five years for vehicular homicide and six months for the vehicular negligent injury. She ran the sentences concurrently. Judge Maloney also fined McKnight $50 for the seatbelt offense.

Assistant District Attorney Alyssa Aleman prosecuted the case.