Tag: jefferson parish sheriff’s office

Saleh ‘Sam’ Omar guilty of manslaughter in Terrytown duct tape homicide case

A Jefferson Parish jury on Thursday (April 24) found Saleh “Sam” Omar guilty of killing a man by strangulation and by tightly wrapping his face and torso and arms with duct tape, leaving him unable to free himself to breathe.

Omar, 47, was convicted of manslaughter in the death of Mohamed “Mo” Mezlini, 29.

He was charged with second-degree murder. But during the more than eight hours of deliberations over two days, jurors found him guilty of the lesser offense.

Omar was a West Bank business owner who previously employed Mezlini. For reasons that remain unclear, Omar expressed hostilities toward Mezlini during the weeks leading up to the incident. He planned a confrontation that included tying Mezlini up.

On Sept. 8, 2018, Omar pressured his 17-year-old stepbrother Yazan Omar to lure Mezlini to a vacant suite in a strip mall in the 90 block of Terry Parkway, in Terrytown. The vacant suite was adjacent to a cell phone repair shop that Omar owned. Omar had planned to open a business in the vacant suite and had spent months working on it.

Unbeknownst to Omar, Yazan Omar alerted his friend Mezlini that Omar meant to do him harm. Mezlini went to the store anyway, intending to confront Omar. Mezlini arrived, parked his car in front, leaving the engine running and a frozen coffee beverage in the console.

Mezlini walked into the vacant suite, and he and Omar greeted each other and shook hands. As Mezlini walked on, Omar attacked him from behind and held him in a choke hold. Mezlini broke free and punched Omar in the mouth, bloodying it.

Omar brandished a pocketknife and then a pistol and pointed it at Mezlini and his stepbrother. Omar ordered Yazan Omar to help him wrap Mezlini in duct tape. Omar then allowed Yazan Omar to leave.

When Yazan Omar last saw Mezlini, Mezlini was bound with duct tape, but his nose was not covered, meaning he could breathe.

Yazan Omar returned to the cell phone shop next door, where two employees were working. He told them what happened. They did not take it seriously enough to call 911. One of the employees heard the wall between the cell phone repair shop and the vacant suite shaking at one point.

Eventually, Omar departed. He left Mezlini locked in the vacant suite unable to breathe, taking with him the only key to the front door. One of his employees saw him walking out covering his bloodied face and driving away. The employee called Omar on the phone and asked about Mezlini. Omar told him that Mezlini had left the premises.

Soon after, Yazan Omar and the two employees, growing increasingly suspicious, used a screwdriver to jimmy the lock to the vacant suite. One of the employees began video recording the scene on his cellphone as they entered.

Seventeen minutes after Omar departed, they found Mezlini on the floor, duct tape covering his face from the bridge of his nose to his chin, and his arms bound tightly to his torso. His body was limp. One of the employees tore the duct tape from Mezlini’s torso and then used a blade to slice through the tape covering his mouth and nose. Yazan Omar attempted chest compressions. An employee called 911.

Suffering from irreversible brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen, Mezlini was pronounced dead the following day. The Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office concluded he died from asphyxia due to strangulation and smothering. Mezlini’s hyoid bone, in his throat, also was broken, indicating strangulation. He had an abrasion on his forehead, consistent with blunt force trauma.

Omar fled to Central America, where he was arrested two weeks later in Panama and returned to Jefferson Parish to face charges.

“He leaves with the only key that can save Mo,” Assistant District Attorney Kristen Landrieu told jurors in closing argument Wednesday night. “And he doesn’t look back. Not once. He made it out of the country. He duct-taped (Mezlini’s) mouth and nose shut. What do you think is going to happen?”

At trial, Omar’s attorneys urged jurors to find him not guilty. The defense suggested that Omar was defending himself and argued that Mezlini was alive when Omar left him in the vacant suite. They asserted that Omar panicked and fled upon seeing news reports that Mezlini had died and the Sheriff’s Office wanted to arrest him for murder.

Yazan Omar initially was charged with second-degree murder for his role in assisting Omar. He pleaded guilty in December 2021 to false imprisonment using a firearm and obstruction of justice and received a 15-year prison sentence.

The jury that was seated Monday deliberated 3 ½ hours on Wednesday night and almost five hours on Thursday before returning with its verdict. Judge Lee Faulkner of the 24th Judicial District Court set sentencing for May 14.

Assistant District Attorneys Kristen Landrieu, Brendan Bowen and Mallory Grefer prosecuted the case.

Monica Every, Louis Gordon convicted in Metairie murder-for-hire plot

A Jefferson Parish jury on Thursday night (April 17) found Monica Every and Louis Gordon guilty of conspiring to kill her ex-boyfriend’s new lover, a scheme they carried out after Every’s harassment campaign failed to end the relationship.

Their conspiracy culminated on the morning of Jan. 27, 2022, when Gordon fatally shot Every’s romantic rival, Charlene Jones, in Metairie. For that, Every paid Gordon $10,000.

Jones, 48, was shot three times from the back while sitting in her car outside her apartment in the gated complex in the 2500 block of South Interstate 10 Service Road, near Causeway Boulevard.

Every, 52, of LaPlace, was convicted of being a principal to second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and solicitation for second-degree murder.

Gordon, 37, of New Orleans, was convicted of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and of obstruction of justice.

Every’s boyfriend broke off their 7-year relationship on Christmas Day 2021 to be with Jones. Every was aware of his involvement with Jones, evidenced by the string of angry text messages she sent to him on the day after Christmas, including one in which she called Jones “that old bitch dog.” During the following weeks, Every began an escalating pattern of harassing Jones.

“If Monica Every can’t have him, no one can. That’s what this case is about. It’s as simple as that,” Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Truhe told jurors on April 11 in opening statements. “(Every) was willing to do what it took to eliminate her.”

“It goes beyond obsession,” Assistant District Attorney Matthew Whitworth told jurors Thursday evening during closing argument.

Determined to end the relationship, Every had Gordon sprinkle “voodoo dust” on Jones’ car. She made harassing phone calls, leading Jones and her ex-boyfriend to change their phone numbers.

At Every’s request, Gordon planted a pistol in Jones’ car. Every then called Crimestoppers, anonymously reporting that the firearm hidden in Jones’ car was linked to a teenager’s homicide in New Orleans East. A New Orleans Police Department homicide detective, assisted by Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies, investigated the Crimestoppers tip. The detective quickly determined that neither Jones nor the pistol was tied in the New Orleans homicide.

Rattled by being questioned in connection with a homicide investigation, Jones immediately told detectives about Every’s ongoing harassment.

Every also hoped that the apartment complex management would bar her ex-boyfriend from the property. She obtained court records from Tangipahoa Parish, where he pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 1997, and anonymously faxed them to the management from a local office supply store. Jefferson Parish detectives later confirmed that Every faxed the court records by viewing security video footage from the office supply store.

Every tried to get an acquaintance who resided in the apartment complex to report her felon ex-boyfriend’s presence on the property. She called that acquaintance seven times in one day in this failed effort.

“When she couldn’t scare Charlene Jones away, the evidence will show she paid this man to kill her,” Truhe told jurors, pointing to Gordon.

It was just before 5 a.m., on Jan. 27, 2022, when Jones slid into her driver’s seat just outside her apartment to prepare to drive to her job. Just as she started the engine and put the transmission in drive, Gordon began shooting.

Jones’ boyfriend was among the residents who heard the gunfire and who called 911. He ran to Jones’ car and opened the driver’s door to find her mortally wounded.

Deputies found her unresponsive in the driver’s seat. Next to the car, they found five spent 9mm bullet casings and bullet damage on the car. The bullet that ended Jones’ life passed through her left arm and entered her torso, where it punctured her lung and severed the aorta.

Detectives obtained video surveillance footage of the shooter’s car passing the momentarily untended guard house at the entrance to the apartment complex. Within five minutes, the car is seen speeding out of the complex.

Although the Ford Fusion had no license plate, detectives were able to identify its owner: Gordon’s girlfriend, a 29-year-old mother of four who lived in New Orleans East.

She was initially viewed as a suspect and booked with second-degree murder. She was jailed while Gordon fled to Florida, where he was later arrested. She allowed Gordon to use her car and one of her daughters’ cell phones on the morning Jones was murdered. She was aware that Gordon did odd tasks for Every, but she was unaware of the murder scheme.

She eventually was charged with and pleaded guilty to money laundering for handling some of the money that Every paid Gordon. She was sentenced to two years of probation and testified about Gordon’s interaction with Every and the money Every gave her boyfriend.

Detectives recovered cell phone communications and financial transactions that linked Every and Gordon to the conspiracy to kill Jones. Two cell phones that Gordon possessed were at the apartment complex when Jones was killed, including the one he borrowed from his girlfriend, detectives learned. Minutes after he shot Jones, Gordon sent a text message to her, “$$$.” Gordon even had his mother cash a $4,000 check that Every provided to him.

As the investigation unfolded, Every learned that detectives encountered Gordon. The next day, Every called the lead case detective, saying she had information to offer. She met detectives at a New Orleans coffee shop and, without being prompted to do so, she provided an alibi showing she was at her home in LaPlace when Jones was killed. Unbeknownst to the detectives, Every recorded their conversation on her cell phone.

Every’s and Gordon’s attorneys denied the charges. They said that Every’s ex-boyfriend or the father of Gordon’s girlfriend’s children could have killed Jones. In defending the money transactions between Every and Gordon, Gordon’s attorney said his client helped Every acquire cabinets for her home. In testimony Thursday, Gordon said he is innocent.

Jurors deliberated almost 2 ½ hours Thursday night before returning with their unanimous guilty verdicts on all counts. Judge R. Christopher Cox of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Every and Gordon on May 29.

Assistant District Attorneys Matthew Whitworth, Lindsay Truhe and Sarah Helmstetter prosecuted the case.

Metairie resident convicted of distributing, possessing child pornography

A Jefferson Parish jury on Tuesday night (April 8) found former Metairie resident Guillermo Cadir Lopez-Pineda guilty of possessing child pornography.

Lopez-Pineda, who is in his thirties, was convicted as charged of four counts of distribution of pornography involving juveniles under age 13 and one count of possession with the intent to distribute pornography involving juveniles under age 13.

The charges stem from tips received by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children beginning in December 2020, after Lopez-Pineda twice shared illegal images through Facebook Messenger.

The federal agency referred the tips to the Louisiana Department of Justice, whose investigation led to Lopez-Pineda’s apartment in the 2200 block of Giuffrias Avenue. State investigators linked the illegal imagery to Lopez-Pineda through the internet service provider and his Gmail and Facebook accounts.

After arresting Lopez-Pineda in October 2022, the state investigators found 136 illegal images that were stored on his cell phone. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation.

In testimony on Tuesday, Lopez-Pineda pointed out that he did not live alone, suggesting that one of his roommates could have been responsible for what investigators found on his electronic devices.

The jury that was seated on Monday deliberated about an hour Tuesday night before returning with its verdict.

Judge Ellen Shirer Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Lopez-Pineda on May 1.

Assistant District Attorneys Erich Cathey and James Wascom prosecuted the case.

Week roundup: Carlton Waller pleads guilty in roommate’s attack; Eder Vasquez convicted of possessing child pornography

Two criminal cases that went to trial this week have been resolved, including one that ended with a guilty plea after the defendant heard his victim testify and the other by the verdict of a Jefferson Parish jury.

AGGRAVATED SECOND-DEGREE BATTERY

Just after his victim testified against him on Monday (April 1), Carlton Waller, 31, pleaded guilty as charged to the aggravated second-degree battery. Judge Donnie Rowan of the 24th Judicial District Court then sentenced Waller to 14 years in prison.

Waller attacked his 48-year-old roommate on Jan. 24, 2022, inside the apartment they shared in the 6600 block of Merle Street in Metairie.

The roommate loaned Waller his AirPods. Waller later returned a different set of AirPods, leading to an argument that escalated to violence. After strangling his roommate, Waller slammed the victim onto the floor and began kicking him in the head and body.

Then, Waller brandished a pistol and began striking his roommate with it, including the face and mouth. Waller pointed the pistol at his roommate’s head and threatened to kill him.

Another roommate drove the victim to the hospital for treatment. In addition to having his left arm broken, the roommate received five staples to close the laceration on the right side of his head.

As part of the sentence, Waller is to have no contact with the victim for 20 years and had to relinquish his firearms.

Assistant District Attorney Taylor Somerville prosecuted the case.

POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Eder Vasquez, 41, was convicted as charged Wednesday (April 2) of two counts of possession of pornography depicting children under age 13.

The investigation began in May 2020, when the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation’s Cyber Crime Unit received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The case was passed to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office after the origin was traced to an apartment in the 100 block of Raspberry Street in Metairie.

Investigators tracked the images to an “Eder Basquez.” The Sheriff’s Office determined that Eder Basquez is, in fact, Eder Vasquez, and he had received illegal images through WhatsApp.

Investigators found thousands of photographs and videos of a sexual nature on Vasquez’s cell phone, most of which depicted youths whose exact age ranges were difficult to discern. Jurors were shown nine photographs and three videos depicting children who clearly were under the age of 13.

After he was arrested, Vasquez said he was communicating with strangers on WhatsApp and said that he had received and viewed illegal pornographic videos and images. At trial, his attorney argued, among other defenses, that Vasquez mistakenly clicked on links saying “funny jokes” that instead showed pornographic images.

The jury deliberated less than an hour before returning with its unanimous verdicts. Judge June Berry Darensburg of the 24th Judicial District Court set sentencing for May 1.

Assistant District Attorneys Kristen Landrieu and Rachel Warren prosecuted the case.

Anthony Morgan sentenced to life in Airline Drive murder

A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (Feb. 26) sentenced Anthony Morgan to spend the rest of his life in prison for opening fire on a rival on Airline Drive in Metairie, fatally wounding him as he sat in the driver’s seat of his car.

Armed with an assault-style rifle, Morgan, 42, of Metairie, fired numerous bullets at Aaron Lee on the night of April 25, 2022, while Lee waited at a traffic light at Airline and Turnbull drives. Four bullets struck Lee, including a head wound that ended the 44-year-old Metairie resident’s life in a hospital three days later.

For that, a jury found Morgan guilty as charged of second-degree murder on Dec. 5.

Click here to read about the trial.

In victim-impact testimony presented during the sentencing hearing, members of Lee’s family described him a joyful man of faith. “My dad once again won’t see me cross the stage in a cap and gown,” wrote one of his daughters, who was a high school athlete when he was murdered and is now a 19-year-old college student.

His youngest daughter noted they were somewhat estranged. “It tears me apart that my daddy left this earth thinking his youngest daughter never wanted to see him again,” she wrote.

His mother described the anger, sadness and depression she has experienced as a result of her oldest son’s death. She referred to him as her best friend. Morgan “took that away from me, and I’ll never be the same,” she wrote.

Directing his comments to Lee’s family and friends in the courtroom, Morgan expressed his sorrow for what happened, calling it “a sad situation” and insisting he was defending himself when he shot Lee. He then bemoaned his going to prison for life: “I’m sorry for what y’all going through. My family lost me, too.”

After denying post-verdict defense motions, Judge June Berry Darensburg of the 24th Judicial District Court expressed condolences for Lee’s family. She noted that Morgan initially denied involvement. Morgan then asserted self-defense.

“You continue to make excuses today,” Judge Darensburg told Morgan. “I think what you said to the family was disrespectful.”

She sentenced Morgan to mandatory life in prison without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

In addition to the murder count, jurors found Morgan guilty of three counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of obstruction of justice.

Judge Darensburg sentenced Morgan to 20 years for each of the firearm counts and 40 years for each of the obstruction counts – the maximum on all. She ran the sentences concurrently.

Assistant District Attorneys Kristen Landrieu and Brendan Bowen prosecuted the case.

 

Tyrone Constant sentenced to 50 years in Harvey pizza business attack

A Jefferson Parish judge has sentenced Tyrone Constant to 50 years in prison for his conviction of brutally attacking a 20-year-old employee of a West Bank pizza business with a machete-type knife.

A Jefferson Parish jury on Feb. 5 found Constant, 40, of Harvey, guilty as charged of attempted second-degree murder for the May 23, 2020 attack inside the business in the 1600 block of Gretna Boulevard in Harvey.

Click here to read about the trial.

The victim knew Constant by his first name from his visits to the business. She did nothing to provoke the attack.

In victim-impact testimony on Feb. 21, the victim’s mother said that “the aftermath of this entire ordeal is far worse,” citing the 16 surgeries, more than 200 doctors’ appointments and 300 physical and occupational surgeries she has endured – in addition to the emotional trauma.

Constant “left her broken, insecure, literally scarred and scared to live a life outside of her home,” the mother said. “And for the record, she doesn’t feel completely safe there, either. (Constant) not only shattered bones, (he) also shattered her peace and dreams. She no longer looks forward to her future. To say the least, it has dimmed her light. She no longer shines as bright as she did before the attack.”

After denying defense requests for post-verdict motions for a new trial and acquittal, Judge Jacqueline Maloney of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Constant to the maximum 50 years for attempted second-degree murder.

She additionally sentenced Constant to two 6-month sentences in finding him in contempt of court for two courtroom outbursts – one during the trial and one during Friday’s sentencing hearing. Judge Maloney ran the sentences consecutively, for a total of 51 years.

Assistant District Attorneys Kristen Landrieu and Ashton Robinson prosecuted the case.

Paul J. Beebe Jr. convicted of raping 59-year-old Metairie woman

A Jefferson Parish jury on Wednesday (Feb. 12) found Paul J. Beebe Jr. guilty of raping a woman in a Metairie apartment.

Beebe, 65, of St. Rose, was convicted as charged of the first-degree rape of the diminutive 59-year-old woman on May 13, 2023.

The victim, a friend of Beebe’s brother, was at the brother’s apartment in the 6300 block of Riverside Drive on the night before she was raped. Beebe was there, too, and became so intoxicated that he passed out and slept on the living room floor where he fell. The following morning, he groped the victim as she slept on a recliner.

After his brother left for work, his behavior escalated. “I got you now,” he told the victim. He beat and dragged the victim across the floor to the bedroom, where he strangled and raped her. Afterward, he fell asleep while sitting at the kitchen table. Suffering with abrasions and other injuries to her face, wrist, back and hip and cloaked only with a bed sheet, the victim fled.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office was notified. Swabs collected during the victim’s sexual assault examination revealed the presence of Beebe’s DNA. At trial, Beebe suggested alternatively that the victim consented to sexual activity, but also that he was unable to complete a sexual act.

The jury that was seated Monday deliberated about 2 ½ hours Wednesday in finding Beebe guilty as charged.

Judge Shayna Beevers Morvant of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Beebe on Tuesday (Feb. 18).

Assistant District Attorneys Brendan Bowen and Lindsay Truhe prosecuted the case.

Tyrone Constant guilty of attempted murder of Harvey pizza business employee

A Jefferson Parish jury deliberated 25 minutes on Wednesday (Feb. 5) in finding Tyrone Constant guilty of trying to kill a 20-year-old employee of a West Bank pizza business by brutally attacking her with a machete-type knife.

Constant, 40, of Harvey, was convicted as charged of attempted second-degree murder in connection with the May 23, 2020 attack inside a business in the 1600 block of Gretna Boulevard.

The victim and her 52-year-old co-worker were the only employees working on that Saturday night during Memorial Day weekend. Constant had been in the business numerous times before. Both employees working that night were familiar with Constant by his first name, Tyrone.

Wearing a mask because of the COVID-19 pandemic and his head partially covered by a hoodie and cap, Constant walked in from the rain about 9 p.m. and asked the victim about whether the business was hiring. He placed the backpack he carried on the sales counter in front of him. He and the victim chatted.

Within two minutes of arriving and without provocation, Constant pulled a knife out of his backpack, jumped over the counter and chased both employees.

They fled out the rear door. The 52-year-old woman ran to a neighboring business to call 911, glancing back to see Constant hacking her coworker amid her screams. When the screaming stopped, she testified she thought the victim had died.

The victim played dead on the ground outside. After Constant fled, she returned to the inside of the business and eventually collapsed. Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies found her in a pool of her blood and suffering from extensive injuries. Gashes to her head suggested he had the intent to kill her. The victim eventually underwent 15 surgeries and years of physical therapy.

Detectives started the investigation with only the first name of the perpetrator based off the victim and witness’s statements. Detectives quickly received an anonymous tip about a possible suspect with the first name “Tyrone”. A photographic line-up was shown to the victim including that man. The victim did not recognize any of the photographs.

The following day, the victim’s co-worker contacted the Sheriff’s Office, providing detectives with Constant’s full name. The detectives later returned to the victim with a second photographic lineup, this one including Constant’s photograph. She immediately pointed out Constant.

The co-worker, when shown a lineup, selected Constant and said she was “100-percent certain” that he was the attacker.

On May 27, 2020, at about 1:15 a.m., a deputy patrolling Harvey spotted Constant in a convenience store in the 1600 block of Lapalco Boulevard. The deputy recognized Constant from a wanted bulletin associated with the attack and arrested him. The weapon Constant used has not been recovered.

Jurors also heard testimony about Constant previously having been fired from a pizza restaurant nearby. He had returned to his former workplace at a later date, drew a knife, and was forcibly removed by three employees.

At trial, Constant’s defense attorney challenged the veracity of the victim’s and coworker’s identifying his client as the perpetrator. He further assailed the Sheriff’s Office for failing to try to get fingerprints from the business to confirm the identity of the perpetrator.

Constant was tried in absentia because he refused to leave his cell at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.

Judge Jacqueline Maloney of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Constant on Feb. 21.

Assistant District Attorneys Kristen Landrieu and Ashton Robinson prosecuted the case.

 

Convicted of killing teen at a Marrero playground, Elijah Augustus and Trenton Tatum sentenced to life in prison

A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (Feb. 5), sentenced two Harvey men to spend the rest of their lives in prison for their convictions of luring a teenager to a public playground in Marrero with claims of selling him a gun but instead shooting him to death while trying to rob him.

Elijah Augustus, 23, and Trenton Tatum, 33, were convicted as charged last month of the second-degree murder of 19-year-old Hassan Veal, who died at Pard Playground on the night of Aug. 5, 2021. They additionally were convicted of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

A third defendant, Tyron Edwards, 23, of Harvey, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and conspiracy to commit armed robbery on Sept. 10, 2024. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Evidence shows that Edwards, who is Tatum’s nephew, fired one shot but did not shoot at Veal.

“They stole an innocent man’s life away from him and from his family for no good reason at all,” Assistant District Attorney Leo Aaron told jurors in closing argument on Jan. 10. “They took from him everything he was and everything he will ever be.”

On Wednesday, Augustus and Tatum were returned to 24th Judicial District Judge Michael Mentz’s courtroom to be sentenced. Veal’s mother, sister, aunt, cousin and high school history teacher each provided victim-impact testimony.

They described Veal as “a bright light” in their lives, who in younger years portrayed Jesus and a king during Christmas pageants at their church, who attended college studying to become an engineer and who encouraged his elderly grandmother to open a Facebook account “so she could stay in touch with the world.” Now, the family can only visit his grave and dwell on “what could have been,” they testified.

Responding to reports of gunfire on the night of Aug. 5, 2021, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies found Veal about 10:30 p.m., lying near the concrete drainage canal bank next to Pard Playground. He had been shot nine times, including once in the face, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Just over three hours earlier, Veal electronically sent $666 to Augustus via Cash App as payment for a gun. That night, Veal and his girlfriend drove to the playground, expecting to meet Augustus to get the gun.

Edwards, Augustus and Tatum arrived at Pard earlier to await Veal’s arrival. After he arrived, Veal approached Edwards, who sat in his car. Tatum and Augustus emerged from hiding with guns drawn and demanded money from Veal.

Veal told the gunmen that he had no money. His girlfriend sat in his car nearby as the robbery unfolded. Armed with an assault-style pistol, Tatum, wearing a mask, confronted the girlfriend and ordered her to turn over money.

Veal called out that she had nothing. He tried to flee but could not escape. Moments later, the gunmen opened fire on Veal.

The incident was recorded by a nearby residential security system, showing the muzzle flashes, beginning from the one Edwards fired as he stepped out of his car and those Tatum and Augustus fired.

Tatum “for no reason, completely unprovoked, unloads 26 rounds at Hassan Veal. A bright constant muzzle flash from a semi-automatic rifle, bullet after bullet at an unarmed 19-year-old begging for his life,” Assistant DA Aaron told jurors last month, describing the surveillance video recording.

Veal’s girlfriend fled in his car but returned after the gunmen sped away and remained until deputies arrived.

In all, thirty-one bullet casings, fired by three firearms, were recovered at the murder scene. Twenty-six of those bullets were .223-caliber and 5.56 mm, all fired from the same weapon – Tatum’s. Deputies also found an iPhone, which the Sheriff’s Office Digital Forensic Unit determined belonged to Edwards. He dropped it during the crime. It led to his arrest.

The Digital Forensic Unit found text messages on Edwards’ phone showing that he was communicating with Augustus, including a message saying “Y’all seen that car,” a message coinciding with the timing of Veal’s arrival at the playground.

As the investigation unfolded, detectives arrested Augustus. The Digital Forensic Unit found that Augustus had been in contact with Veal seven times during the day of the murder. The last call between Augustus and Veal was at 10:24 p.m., three minutes before the first of six 911 calls reporting gunfire was made.

Augustus also was in contact with Tatum, who days before the murder discussed setting up “a lick,” or an armed robbery. They had a similar exchange on the day of the murder, in which Tatum asked Augustus about setting up a robbery. Augustus replied that he had something in mind – Veal.

The Sheriff’s Office further confirmed through Cash App that Veal transferred $666 to Augustus 3 ½ hours before the homicide. The detectives also gathered evidence through Augustus’ cell phone location services showing he was at the playground during the murder.

On Aug. 11, 2021, Tatum was located and arrested at a motel in the 5300 block of the Westbank Expressway in Marrero. A .40-caliber pistol found in the motel room. The Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab determined it was used in the murder.

Detectives also searched Tatum’s cell phone and learned that two hours after the murder, he used the device to search for news stories about the murder. He also searched the internet for his name in association with Veal’s murder, and inquired about criminal defenses, including how to defend oneself from assertions raised by “a snitch.”

Tatum additionally was convicted of two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He was forbidden from possessing firearms because of his 2010 convictions of attempted second-degree murder, for which he received a 15-year prison sentence.

The defense attorneys argued that Tatum and Augustus were wrongly accused and are innocent. They assailed the prosecution’s key witness as being untruthful and sought to undermine the Sheriff’s Office investigation.

The jury deliberated about three hours on Jan. 10 in finding Tatum and Augustus guilty as charged.

In addition to sentencing the duo to life in prison for the murder, Judge Mentz ordered each man to serve 49 years in prison for conspiracy to commit armed robbery. The judge also sentenced Tatum to two 20-year sentences for each of the firearm possession counts. All sentences were run concurrently.

After the sentencing hearing, Augustus pleaded guilty to unrelated charges of possession of Tramadol, possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled dangerous substance (marijuana), and to misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession and disturbing the peace. Judge Mentz sentenced Augustus to five years for each of the felonies, and six months and a $100 fine for the misdemeanors.

Assistant District Attorneys Leo Aaron and James Wascom prosecuted the case.

 

Gerald Barker sentenced to back-to-back life sentences for double-murder

A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (Dec. 18) sentenced Gerald “Bird” Barker to back-to-back life sentences in prison for executing two people in a Westwego residence from where he sometimes sold crack cocaine.

Barker, 37, will serve the life sentences for the second-degree murders of Linda Turner, 68, and Curtis Thomas, 51, who were shot inside Turner’s home in the 600 block of Emile Avenue on Jan. 17, 2023.

A Jefferson Parish jury on Dec. 4 deliberated about 20 minutes in finding Barker guilty as charged of killing Turner and Thomas, in addition to convicting him of obstruction of justice, possession of cocaine and of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Turner owned the home in which she died. She allowed Barker to sell narcotics from the home, and Barker later confessed to a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detective that he helped her pay her bills because of this arrangement.

At about 9 p.m. Jan. 17, 2023, an acquaintance of theirs went to the home, discovered the bodies and called 911. Deputies found Thomas lying in a pool of his blood on the living room floor just inside the front door. He was pronounced dead at the scene. They found Turner seated on her sofa in the living room suffering from gunshot wounds. She died shortly after at a hospital.

The physical evidence shows that Thomas was standing just inside the front door when Barker, standing in the doorway, shot him in the back of his head, according to an expert in crime scene reconstruction. Thomas fell to the ground, and Barker stood over him and shot him in the face. Barker then entered the living room and shot Turner in her face, arm and head, according to the expert.

Detectives developed Barker as a suspect almost immediately. They also obtained surveillance video from a nearby residence showing that immediately after the murders, Barker ran from the house.

The detectives learned that Barker ran to his friend Lee Wings’ home less than a mile away, on Gwen Street.

Armed with an arrest warrant, members of the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Force located Barker at an addiction treatment facility in New Orleans in March 2023 and took him into custody.

During his interview with the Sheriff’s Office, Barker admitted he sold crack cocaine from the Turner’s home and occasionally resided there. But he said he was at Wing’s home when Turner and Thomas were slain. He eventually confessed to shooting the two people.

“I hope and pray that you never see the streets again. Ever,” Thomas’s ex-wife told the court Wednesday in victim-impact testimony. “It was uncalled for. It was totally uncalled for. I know your family can see you again. We can never see him again. It’s never.”

Before announcing the sentences, Judge Frank Brindisi of the 24th Judicial District Court told Barker he is “incorrigible,” citing his numerous convictions of possession of cocaine since 2007.

“I don’t think you’ll ever go straight,” Judge Brindisi told him. “I think you’re a one-man crime wave.”

For the murders, he sentenced Barker to the mandatory life sentences, to be served without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. He ran the sentences consecutively.

Judge Brindisi separately sentenced Barker to 40 years for obstruction of justice and fined him $100,000, for eliminating the murder weapon; two years for possession of cocaine; and, 20 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Barker was prohibited from possessing firearms because of a 2018 conviction of possession of cocaine.

“Mr. Barker, you’re going where you need to be,” Judge Brindisi told him. “Good luck.”

Separately, Barker’s co-defendant, Wings, 59, pleaded guilty Wednesday to accessory after the fact to second-degree murder and was sentenced to three years of active probation. After Barker committed the murders, Wings drove Barker to the east bank of Jefferson Parish, stopping on the Crescent City Connection along the way so that Barker could toss the murder weapon into the Mississippi River. After returning to the West Bank, Wings left Barker at a motel.

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