Tag: kenner police department

Joshua Every pleads guilty to brutally murdering Taylor Friloux while robbing Kenner Raising Cane’s

A Jefferson Parish judge on Thursday (Sept. 18) sentenced Joshua Every to life in prison after he admitted to brutally stabbing Taylor Friloux to death at the Kenner fast food restaurant where she worked as a shift manager nine years ago.

In pleading guilty as charged to first-degree murder, Every, 32, of Laplace, averted a potential death sentence had he been convicted at his trial of killing Friloux, 21, on June 29, 2016.

In a negotiated agreement with the state, Every pleaded guilty as charged in exchange for the state withdrawing its intent to seek the death penalty. In doing so, Every agreed to be sentenced to a mandatory life sentence in prison at hard labor with no chance of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. His trial had been scheduled to begin on Oct. 14.

Every and his codefendants planned to rob the Raising Cane’s in the 3300 block of Williams Boulevard. As employees were discarding the garbage during closing time, Every and his cohort Gregory Donald entered the rear of the business.

Without provocation, Every stabbed Friloux at the rear entrance and then forced her at knifepoint inside the business and to the manager’s office. After forcing her to give him $1,000, she collapsed onto the floor, at which time he brutally and repeatedly stabbed her, causing injuries that ended her life hours later at a hospital intensive care unit.

“She was not yours to take, but you did it anyway,” Friloux’s mother told Every in victim-impact testimony, having carried the urn containing her daughter’s ashes with her to the witness stand. “I will never forgive you.”

She was one of six people to provide victim-impact testimony during the hourlong sentencing hearing. Friloux’s mother’s partner also expressed an unwillingness to forgive Every. “Enjoy your stay in your new gated community of Angola,” she told Every.

Said one of Friloux’s coworkers at Raising Cane’s and a victim of the armed robbery, “The person you took away was a good person who deserved to be here today.” Every had worked at the business previously and knew his victim. The coworker said Every killed her “over a grudge and anger you couldn’t let go.”

Friloux’s cousin was in the ICU when she died and recalled hearing the doctor announce “the words no family should have to hear: ‘Time of death, 8:41 a.m.’”

“You got to hear her last words. What did she say?” the cousin asked Every, who said nothing in return.

“You didn’t just murder her. You robbed the world of a bright, vibrant woman,” a family friend testified.

Every was charged in a separate indictment with two counts of armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, false imprisonment while armed with a weapon, witness intimidation and obstruction of justice.

Judge Lee Faulkner of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Every to 50 years for each of the two armed robbery counts, 25 years for the conspiracy to commit armed robbery, 10 years for false imprisonment, 20 years for witness intimidation and 20 years for obstruction of justice. Judge Falkner ran the sentences concurrently and concurrent with his life sentence.

Every’s codefendants already have pleaded guilty:

  • Mark Crocklen, 33, of Baton Rouge, pleaded guilty in 2018 to manslaughter, two counts of armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, false imprisonment, witness intimidation and obstruction of justice. He received a received a 40-year prison sentence.
  • Gregory Donald, 27, of Kenner, pleaded guilty in 2019 to manslaughter, two counts of armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, false imprisonment, witness intimidation and obstruction of justice. He received a received an 89-year prison sentence.
  • Ariana Runner, 31, of Laplace, pleaded guilty in 2018 to conspiracy to commit armed robbery and obstruction of justice. She awaits her sentencing.

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

Sean Barrette sentenced to three life sentences plus 180 years in prison

A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (June 18) sentenced Sean Barrette to three back-to-back life sentences plus another 180 years in prison for his conviction of targeting strangers in four unrelating shootings on East Jefferson roadways in June 2019, killing three men. 

Barrette, 28, of Metairie, was convicted Friday night of eight charges in connection with four separate shootings in East Jefferson. 

Click here to read about the trial. 

Judge Jacqueline Maloney of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Barrette on the sixth anniversary of his killing the last two of his victims and on his arrest by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. 

  • Count 1, the first-degree murder of Manuel Caronia, 45, of Metairie, who was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Escalade east in the 8600 block of West Metairie Avenue on June 18, 2019, when Barrette shot him. Caronia was struck by two bullets and died at the scene. Barrette received a life sentence for killing Caronia, without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. 
  • Count 2, the first-degree murder of Nicky Robeau, 57, of Harahan, who was Caronia’s passenger. He also was shot twice and died at the scene. Barrette received a life sentence for killing Robeau, without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. 
  • Count 3, the second-degree murder of Isia Francisco Cadalzo-Sevilla, 22, of Metairie, who was driving a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze east on West Metairie Avenue near Henry Landry Drive on June 17, 2019. Cadalzo-Sevilla was wounded and drove off the roadway and into a tree. Barrette stopped, got out of his vehicle and continued shooting Cadalzo-Sevilla. Barrette received a life sentence for killing Cadalzo-Sevilla, without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. 
  • Count 4, the attempted first-degree murder of a 37-year-old Harvey man who was driving his 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis in Kenner on June 5, 2019, when Barrette shot at him, striking his car with eight bullets. He escaped unharmed. Barrette received a 50-year prison sentence for this charge. 
  • Count 5, the attempted first-degree murder of a 34-year-old Mississippi woman, who was a passenger in the Harvey man’s Grand Marquis. She escaped unharmed. Barrette received a 50-year sentence for this charge. 
  • Count 6, the attempted second-degree murder of a 24-year-old Algiers woman who on June 17, 2019, was returning home in her 2018 Toyota Camry from having dinner with friends at a Metairie restaurant when Barrette shot at her on Interstate 10 near the Orleans Parish line. Barrette received a 50-year sentence for this charge. 
  • Count 7, aggravated criminal damage to the Harvey man’s 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis. Barrette received a 15-year sentence for this charge. Judge Maloney ordered Barrette to pay a $10,000 fine. 
  • Count 8, aggravated criminal damage to the Algiers woman’s 2018 Toyota Camry. Barrette received a 15-year sentence for this charge. Judge Maloney ordered Barrette to pay a $10,000 fine. 

Life in prison is mandatory in Louisiana for first-degree and second-degree murder. Judge Maloney also gave Barrette the maximum punishment for the three attempted murder charges and criminal damage charges. She ordered that all sentences be served consecutively. 

After denying a defense motion for a new trial, Judge Maloney heard impact testimony from members of the family of the three slain men. 

Cadalzo-Sevilla’s mother and brother said he emigrated from Honduras at a young age, “full of dreams and aspiration” to become a paramedic in the United States. Neither attended the trial and sentencing, they said, because they did not want to “see Barrette’s face.” 

Robeau’s three daughters described him as a dedicated father, husband and grandfather to seven. “Sean, you cowardly hunted people down like they were prey,” one of them testified. 

Two of Caronia’s sisters described their youngest sibling as having a “sweet soul,” a man who at age 17 married a woman who had seven children and proceeded to have six children of his own. “When you took my brother, you took my family,” one of his sisters testified. 

Assistant District Attorneys Zach Grate and Kristen Landrieu prosecuted the case. 

Sean Barrette convicted in East Jefferson shooting spree that left 3 dead

A Jefferson Parish jury deliberated for 1 ½ hours on Friday night (June 13) in finding Sean Barrette guilty of shooting at the occupants of four vehicles traveling on East Jefferson roadways during a 2-week period in June 2019, killing three men.

Barrette, 28, of Metairie, is guilty as charged of two counts of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of attempted second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated criminal damage to property.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges, as well as not guilty by reason of insanity. In addition to finding him guilty, jurors rejected his attorneys’ argument that a mental illness left him unable to distinguish right from wrong during his crime spree.

“He wanted to be remembered for being a serial killer,” Assistant District Attorney Zach Grate told jurors in closing argument Friday evening. “He doesn’t think he’s going to be convicted for it.”

He urged jurors to never mention Barrette’s name again after leaving the courtroom. Notoriety, Assistant DA Grate said, “is the only thing he’s cared about from the start.”

Driving his family’s tan 2005 Nissan Pathfinder sports-utility vehicle, Barrette stalked motorists and all of his victims were strangers. He fired numerous bullets at them using the Smith & Wesson .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol that he purchased from a Metairie sporting goods store less than one month before he used it to shoot at motorists.

It was the ballistics evidence that he left behind, from the bullets recovered at autopsy, to those found in the victims’ vehicles, to the cartridge casings left at crime scenes, that helped investigators identify Barrette as the gunman. He also dropped his cell phone at one of the murder scenes.

Aided by its SWAT team, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested Barrette at his home on June 18, 2019, just hours after he killed two men. As SWAT deputies converged on his home, Barrette hid the .40-caliber pistol and a bullet magazine in a clothes hamper in his bedroom. In his vehicle, the detectives found two .40-caliber cartridge casings.

“Every single one of these incidents link up, because the same exact gun was fired at every one of these scenes,” Assistant District Attorney Kristen Landrieu told jurors in opening statements Wednesday. “That gun belongs to Sean Barrette.”

Here’s the timeline of Barrette’s crime spree:

June 5, 2019, 11:19 p.m.

A 37-year-old Harvey man and a 34-year-old Mississippi woman were traveling on Airline Drive near Elm Street in his 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis when they noticed they were being followed by the driver of a light color SUV.

The man drove onto westbound Interstate 10 and then exited at Loyola Drive in Kenner. The SUV driver continued to follow them. The gunman began shooting at them in the 3100 block of Loyola, possibly wearing a mask. “Somebody was trying to kill us,” the woman testified, her voice wavering above a cry.

Several nearby residents called 911 to report hearing gunfire. The driver made a U-turn and raced back to I-10 west to escape. As the man drove north on Interstate 55, the woman called 911, reporting that someone had been shooting at them in Kenner and that their tires were blown out by bullets.

Fearing the shooter was still following him, the man exited I-55 at Manchac and hid underneath the elevated interstate. Louisiana State Police responded and notified the Kenner Police Department. His car had been struck by eight bullets, including the rear window and bumper. The victims returned to Kenner, to where the car was towed. Officers found .40-caliber cartridge casings near the shooting scene the following day.

The Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab entered ballistics data from the cartridge casings into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive’s National Integrated Ballistics Information Network. NIBIN, as the network is known, helps detectives determine whether firearms are used in multiple crimes.

For shooting at the couple, Barrette was convicted of two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of aggravated criminal damage to property.

June 17, 8:15 p.m.

A 24-year-old Algiers woman who had dined with friends at a Veterans Memorial Boulevard restaurant in Metairie was returning home. She merged onto I-10 from Causeway Boulevard and was driving eastbound near the Orleans Parish line when she heard popping on her car. Thinking it was hail from the storm she was driving through, she called her father on her cell phone and continued to the West Bank.

Once at home, she and her father inspected the car and determined the rear window was shot, and the car’s rear end had bullet holes. She returned to Metairie and filed a complaint at the Sheriff’s Office’s 1st District station.

Her father later took the car to a body shop for repairs from the gunfire. A service technician found that bullets not only pierced the car’s body, but they had also lodged in the spare tire in the trunk.

The Sheriff’s Office gathered the ballistics material from the car. The bullets were linked to the Kenner shooting.

For shooting at the Algiers woman, Barrette was convicted of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated criminal damage to property.

June 17, 2019, 11:12 p.m.

Isia Franciso Cadalzo-Sevilla, 22, of Metairie, was driving a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze east on West Metairie Avenue when Barrette shot at him from his SUV. The car Cadalzo-Sevilla was driving left the roadway and struck a tree at Henry Landry Drive.

His face hidden behind a mask, Barrette stopped in the roadway, got out of his SUV, reloaded his pistol and shot Cadalzo-Sevilla – and in the process, he dropped his cell phone. Caldalzo-Sevilla suffered 12 gunshot wounds and later died at a hospital.

An expert in crime scene reconstruction testified that Barrette’s first gunshots, fired from within his SUV, likely led Cadalzo-Sevilla to drive off the roadway and into the tree.

While at the homicide scene, detectives heard music rising from the West Metairie drainage canal bank. It was the cell phone. The Sheriff’s Office’s Digital Forensic Unit later determined that the mobile device belonged to Barrette.

The Digital Forensic Unit investigators also discovered that in the early morning of June 17, Barrette made an entry in his cell phone memo app: “June 17-grimest day of 2019.”

The ballistics data gathered by the Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab was entered in the NIBIN database, with the results linking Barrette’s pistol to this shooting.

For killing Caldalzo-Sevilla, Barrette was convicted of second-degree murder.

June 18, 2019, 4:16 p.m.

Manuel Caronia, 45, of Metairie, and Nicky Robeau, 57, of Harahan, were traveling in a 2008 Chevrolet Escalade east in the 8600 block of West Metairie Avenue when Barrette. drove alongside them. Caronia was driving.

Barrette extended his pistol out of his passenger’s window and began shooting. A witness frantically called 911, reporting that the SUV driver was shooting at another vehicle.

Deputies found the Escalade stopped in the eastbound lanes, its driver’s side riddled with bullet holes. Both Caronia and Robeau were shot twice and died at the scene.

Ballistics data the Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab obtained from a bullet removed from Caronia’s body was entered in the NIBIN database. That bullet was fired by Barrette’s .40-caliber pistol, investigators determined.

For killing Caronia and Robeau, Barrette was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder.

Insanity Defense

At trial, Barrette’s attorneys argued that he has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and twice involuntarily committed for mental illness before his crime spree. The attorneys suggested that his behavioral changes, which his family noticed later in his life, could be rooted in the blows to his head he experienced playing football in high school and at the handful of colleges he attended.

To find Barrette not guilty by reason of insanity, the jury first had to find that he has a mental disease or defect, and second, that the disease or defect hindered his ability to determine right from wrong.

In rebuttal, the prosecution provided the testimony of Dr. Gina Manguno-Mire, a forensic psychologist. She found that Barrette has mental illness, but not a qualifying mental disease or defect as required under state law.

“It was more along the lines of a serious personality disorder and a substance abuse disorder,” Dr. Manguno-Mire testified Friday. “Neither of those things I diagnosed Mr. Barrette with would interfere with his ability to determine that what he was doing was wrong.”

As part of her evaluation, Dr. Manguno-Mire reviewed numerous records related to his mental health. These include “progress notes” written by staffers who interacted with Barrette during his pre-trial commitment at the Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System hospital in East Feliciana Parish. Jurors were shown the notes.

While there, Barrette indicated he was aware that what he did was wrong but would game the criminal justice system so he could be released. On one occasion, a staffer noted a discussion with Barrette during which he said he would intentionally fail a mental evaluation test “so I can get NGBRI” (not guilty by reason of insanity). He said he would be sent to a group home “and then home.”

“I know that killing those people was wrong but I’m to [sic] young to go to prison. I wouldn’t make it,” the hospital staffer quoted Barrette as saying.

Dr. Manguno-Mire discounted the two involuntary commitments in 2018 and 2019 and highlighted that most of the information contained in the records from those hospital stays were from statements made by Barrette’s family members and not from symptoms observed by medical professionals.

“Not one, and I mean one, psychotic symptom was ever noted by any professional observing Barrette. Not a lone, solitary one,” Assistant DA Grate told jurors.

To help her reach her conclusions that Barrette knew right from wrong, Dr. Manguno-Mire looked at evidence of his behavior at the time of his crime spree.

During the period of the shootings, his family noted nothing was amiss. He fled the scenes of the crimes. After the Kenner shooting, he used back streets to return to his home instead of using I-10 to avoid being seen. He kept his crimes quiet, returning to his home afterward as though nothing had happened. On the day he killed the two men, he chatted with his sister about his new hair style.

On the night of his arrest, Barrette spent almost two hours in an interview room at the Sheriff’s Office. He was alone for most of that time in that room, which was equipped with video cameras. He exhibited no signs of psychosis, Dr. Manguno-Mire noted after watching the video recording.

“He was calm,” Dr. Manguno-Mire testified. “He was seated throughout the entire time he was in the room. He was well-dressed. He was well-groomed. … During that time, he engaged in no bizarre behavior.”

The jury that was seated on Wednesday returned with its verdicts at 9:30 p.m.

Judge Jacqueline Maloney of the 24th Judicial District Court set sentencing for Wednesday (June 18).

Assistant District Attorneys Zach Grate and Kristen Landrieu prosecuted the case.

 

Week roundup: In unrelated child sex abuse cases, Kenner man gets 30-year sentence, Metairie man convicted

One man was sentenced to prison and another was convicted on Thursday (June 12) for sexually abusing children in unrelated cases filed in Jefferson Parish’s 24th Judicial District Court.

 

Oscar Reyes

Oscar Reyes, 63, of Kenner, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his conviction of sexually abusing a 9-year-old child.

Reyes was convicted by a jury on May 15 of sexual battery of a juvenile under age 13 and indecent behavior with a juvenile under age 13. Reyes was not a stranger to the child.

The victim’s mother reported the abuse to the Kenner Police Department in September 2021, after her child disclosed Reyes’ abusive behavior when the child was between the ages of 7 and 9.

The victim further disclosed Reyes’ acts during a forensic medical examination at the Audrey Hepburn CARE Center at Children’s Hospital New Orleans (now named the Morgan Rae Center for Hope at Manning Family Children’s), and to a forensic interviewer at the Jefferson Children’s Advocacy Center. Kenner police arrested Reyes in October 2021.

Jurors deliberated for more than four hours before reaching their unanimous verdicts on May 15. Judge Danyelle Taylor sentenced Reyes to 30 years for the sexual battery charge and 10 years for the indecent behavior with a juvenile charge. Judge Taylor ran the sentences concurrently.

Assistant District Attorneys Cullen Kiker and Kristen Landrieu prosecuted the case.

 

Thomas L. Smith

Thomas L. Smith, 42, of Marrero, was convicted by a jury of sexual battery of a child under age 13 and indecent behavior with a juvenile under age 13. Smith was not a stranger to the child.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office opened its investigation on May 10, 2022, after receiving a call from West Jefferson Medical Center concerning allegations raised by a 12-year-old who said Smith had abused the child. The child’s mother sought medical attention after learning of the abuse.

The child underwent a forensic interview at the Jefferson Children’s Advocacy Center in May 2022, then a medical examination at the Audrey Hepburn CARE Center at Children’s Hospital New Orleans (now named the Morgan Rae Center for Hope at Manning Family Children’s) in October 2022. The child’s statements in both places were consistent with what was disclosed to a detective.

The detective obtained an arrest warrant on June 14, 2022. He was arrested on March 3. 2023.

Judge Shayna Beevers Morvant set sentencing for June 30.

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

Oswaldo Dachuna guilty of murdering man outside Kenner business

A Jefferson Parish jury on Monday (Nov. 18) deliberated less than ½-hour in finding Oswaldo Dacunha guilty of killing a man outside a Kenner convenience store, two hours after he drank beer with the victim beside the business.

Dacunha, 61, of Kenner, was convicted as charged of second-degree murder in the Sept. 3, 2022, death of Alejandro Quiroz, 43. Dacunha also was convicted of obstruction of justice, for eliminating the 9mm semiautomatic pistol he used to shoot Quiroz, evidence that could have further linked him to the crime.

Quiroz and another man were loitering beside the business at the intersection of Loyola and Clemson drives when at about 4 a.m., Dacunha shot him three times.

Kenner Police Department detectives amassed business and residential surveillance videos from the area to help identify Dacunha as the shooter. Through the videos, the detectives determined that about two hours before the shooting, Dacunha arrived at the business on a motorcycle and used a debit card to make at least two purchases in the store, including beer and beef jerky.

Dacunha drank at least one beer with Quiroz before departing on his motorcycle. About two hours later, Dacunha returned riding a bicycle and ducked beside a commercial trash receptacle behind the business. He retrieved a pistol from his backpack, chambered a round and stuffed the weapon in his pants waistband.

He then walked up to Quiroz and shot him in the chest, face and head before pedaling away.

“Those are the actions of a man who wants to kill,” Assistant District Attorney Molly Love told jurors in closing argument Monday.

Quiroz died a short while later at University Medical Center.

The videos detectives obtained showed the shooter wore the same clothes he was wearing two hours earlier, when he arrived at the business on a motorcycle. Lacking a name, Kenner police issued a press release that included the shooter’s image taken from videos and posted it on social media platforms. Detectives received two tips, both identifying Dacunha.

The detectives then researched Dacunha’s name and found a prior arrest with a booking photograph, confirming he was the shooter. They learned he had been living in a backyard shed in the 3200 block of Arkansas Avenue in Kenner. They obtained a warrant for his arrest.

Dacunha was arrested in Vinton, La., on Sept. 9, 2022, after police there investigated a suspicious suspect complaint. They found Dacunha lying on the ground next to his motorcycle.

In his pocket was the debit card he used to make the purchases at the Kenner convenience store two hours before he shot Quiroz. In his cell phone, they found photographs of motorcycles, bicycles and of the image of himself that Kenner police released to the public in the effort to identify the shooter.

Dacunha’s DNA also was recovered from a beer bottle police recovered from feet away from Quiroz’s body.

Dacunha, who represented himself without legal representation, or pro se, told jurors he was falsely identified as the shooter. He said he was “at the wrong place, at the wrong time.”

Assistant District Attorney Leo Aaron praised the work done by the two Kenner police detectives who identified Dacunha as the killer. “Arthur Coll and Peter Foltz did great work in bringing him here before you,” Aaron told jurors in closing argument.

“This was not a case of mistaken identity,” Aaron told jurors. “He was not at the wrong place, at the wrong time. He chose the place, he chose the time.”

The jury that was seated last week returned with its verdict at 3:40 p.m., Monday. Judge Nancy Miller of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Dacunha on Dec. 2.

Assistant District Attorneys Leo Aaron and Molly Love prosecuted the case.

 

Crystal Coleman’s probation revoked, gets 7-year sentence for relationship with teen

A Jefferson Parish judge on Thursday (Nov. 14) sentenced Crystal Coleman to seven years in prison in revoking her probation, finding that the Metairie woman violated a court order to have no contact with a teenager with whom she had a relationship last year.

Coleman, 41, pleaded guilty in April to indecent behavior with a juvenile in connection with her relationship with the 15-year-old with whom she had consensual sexual relations that occurred in early 2023. In accepting the plea in April, Judge Nancy Miller of the 24th Judicial District Court suspended a 7-year prison sentence and ordered her to serve three years of active probation.

As part of her guilty plea, Coleman was forbidden from having contact with the teenager. Yet in August, Coleman drove to St. Tammany Parish expecting to see the teenager. The teenager’s father spotted Coleman at an event that his child attended.

That led Coleman’s probation officer to go to court seeking probation revocation. In court Thursday, Coleman’s attorney asked Judge Miller to leave her client on probation, saying she has a daughter.

Judge Miller said she regretted her decision in April by granting Coleman probation. “She put everything on the line to go ahead and violate the protective order,” Miller said in revoking probation.

Coleman also pleaded guilty to violating protective orders involving the same teenager. Those stemmed from contact Coleman had with the teenager after her arrest last year for having the consensual sexual relationship with the teenager. She was found to have communicated with the teenager through social media platforms, despite knowing she was to have no contact with the juvenile.

On Thursday, Judge Miller served Coleman with a protective order, barring her from contacting the teenager until April 2031.

Assistant District Attorney Leo Aaron prosecuted the case.

Cade Fuxan gets life in prison for murdering roommate in Kenner

A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (March 13) sentenced Cade Fuxan to life in prison for his conviction of killing his roommate James Parker in their Kenner apartment.

Fuxan, 26, shot Parker five times in the hallway of their 2-bedroom apartment in the 4500 block of Williams Boulevard on June 2, 2022, including once in the back of his head. Fuxan then asserted to Kenner police and to the jury he was defending himself. Parker was 24.

Fuxan and Parker’s sister were dating. The couple, Parker and Parker’s brother shared the apartment. The shooting followed months of friction between the men and a physical fight in which Parker got the best of Fuxan. They were alone in the apartment when Fuxan shot Parker

A Jefferson Parish jury on Feb. 1 rejected Fuxan’s self-defense assertions and convicted him as charged of second=degree murder.

Click here to read about the crime.

During Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, 24th Judicial District Court Judge Stephen Enright denied Fuxan’s post-verdict motions for a new trial and to reject the jury’s unanimous conclusion that Fuxan committed a second-degree murder.

Prior to sentencing, Judge Enright heard victim-impact testimony from Parker’s sisters, including from Fuxan’s ex-girlfriend. She said she is “shattered” by her brother’s death and described him as a creative and caring young man.

She also blames herself for her brother’s death because she dated Fuxan. “I regret every moment of us,” she testified. “I regret giving you my love.”

Parker’s other sister described him as peaceful and non-confrontational. “You are the scum on the bottom of my shoe,” she told Fuxan.

Fuxan read from a prepared statement, directing criticism at the prosecutors, expressing sorrow for Parker’s family’s pain but maintaining it was a justifiable homicide. “I did what I had to do,” he said of shooting Parker. He also described the life sentence term as unjust.

Judge Enright then sentenced Fuxan to the mandatory punishment, to be served without parole, probation or suspension of sentence.

Assistant District Attorneys Piper Didier and Douglas Rushton prosecuted the case.

 

Cade Fuxan guilty of murdering his roommate in Kenner

A Jefferson Parish jury on Thursday night (Feb. 1) convicted Cade Fuxan of killing his roommate, rejecting his assertion that he was defending himself when he shot James Parker five times in the apartment they shared in Kenner.

Fuxan, 26, is guilty as charged of second-degree murder, jurors unanimously decided after five hours of deliberation.

Parker, 22, died June 1, 2022 on the hallway floor inside in their apartment in the 4500 block of Williams Boulevard. Fuxan called 911, telling the operator he was defending himself.

The shooting was the culmination of months of hard feelings over a roommate’s intrusion into personal space, physical fights and hurt pride. Two days before the shooting, Parker bested Fuxan in a fight, leaving him with a black eye. Fuxan didn’t let it go.

“He had damaged pride. He had his feelings hurt. He was beaten up, and he couldn’t get over it.” – Assistant District Attorney Piper Didier

Fuxan fired five bullets at Parker. His wounds included one to the back of his head that severed his brain stem, an injury that dropped him to the floor unable to move. That bullet’s trajectory shows that Fuxan fired the pistol while standing over Parker, who was bent over toward the floor in a posture that belies claims of self-defense.

“That back-of-the-head shot is an execution shot,” Assistant District Attorney Piper Didier told jurors in opening statements Tuesday.

Fuxan and Parker shared the two-bedroom apartment with Fuxan’s girlfriend – who was Parker’s sister – and Parker’s brother. Parker’s siblings were at their jobs when he was killed.

Tensions in the apartment had been simmering for months. Parker owed Fuxan money for bills, so in October 2021, Fuxan removed Parker’s keyboard, computer and skateboard from his bedroom and wrote a note to Parker saying that it would get “ugly” if he tried to retrieve his property.

Two days before the shooting, Parker wrote a note to Fuxan, telling him to stay out of his bedroom. Fuxan went into Parker’s bedroom, found the note and wrote on it “F— around and find out.” He left it for Parker to find.

Upon reading it, Parker closed his door and was heard speaking dismissively about Fuxan. Fuxan went to Parker’s bedroom door, knocked on it and yelled. This led to a physical fight that left Fuxan with a black eye and superficial scratches.

That night, Parker sent a text message to Fuxan, apologizing and offering to move out. Parker wrote that he would continue to pay rent as long as his siblings could remain in the apartment.

The following day, Parker apologized to Fuxan in person. Parker’s brother sent a text message to Fuxan, saying he wanted everyone to get along. Fuxan responded, “just my pride hurt.” Later that night, Fuxan unpacked the Ruger 9mm semiautomatic pistol that he purchased a week earlier and said he was going to test fire it at Lake Pontchartrain.

In the hours before the shooting, Fuxan used his cellphone to photograph the injuries that Parker inflicted upon him. His text messages with family members showed both his anger over losing the fight and his unwillingness to let it happen again.

“He is not over that fight,” Assistant District Attorney Douglas Rushton told jurors in closing argument Thursday. “He’s sitting here documenting his injuries. June 1st. 12:36 (p.m.).”

Parker returned to the apartment from his job at about 5 p.m. and went to his bedroom. Fuxan placed his pistol in his pocket and went to Parker’s bedroom, supposedly in search of a pet cat. It was an act that he knew could reignite a fight. “And this time he was going to win,” Rushton told jurors. “And if he started losing again, he’s got his gun. It’s his backup plan. It’s the Plan B.”

At 9:14 p.m., Fuxan called 911 and told the operator he had just shot someone who was “running at” him.

Kenner Police Department officers found Parker’s body on the hallway floor and his bedroom in disarray, with a television knocked over and clumps of his braided hair littering the floor. A trail of bullet casings was strewn from the living room through the hallway. Bullet holes were found in the door frame, a door and walls.

Fuxan initially told police at the apartment that Parker attacked him with a hammer, so he shot and killed Parker. The hammer was on the hallway floor just outside Parker’s bedroom (The hammer belonged to Fuxan, who kept it in his bedroom).

He willingly went to Kenner police headquarters to speak with a detective and without having a lawyer. Once there, he abandoned the hammer-as-a-weapon assertion. He said he had been using the hammer to practice finding wall studs behind the drywall because he planned to work in the air conditioning business.

Fuxan then told the detective that he went into Parker’s room to find their cat because it needed medicine. As he stooped down to look for it under a bed, Parker attacked him, Fuxan told the detective.

Fuxan also told the detective that he was standing stationary in the apartment’s living room when he fired the pistol. However, his description is inconsistent with the evidence, such as where four of the five bullet cases landed in the hallway after they were ejected from his pistol and where bullets struck the hallway walls after passing through Parker’s body, an expert in crime scene reconstruction told jurors.

Kenner police booked Fuxan with manslaughter. A Jefferson Parish grand jury indicted him with second-degree murder.

Fuxan testified Thursday, accusing Parker of physically attacking him twice and maintaining he was defending himself. He asserted that he was only joking when he wrote “F— around and find out” on Parker’s note. He was so fearful for his safety in the apartment that he carried the pistol in his pocket on the night he and Parker were alone in the apartment, he said. His attorney told jurors that Fuxan had no duty to retreat in his home, alluding to the state’s stand-your-ground law. Fuxan also was “firing wildly” at Parker, the attorney told jurors.

Prosecutors argued that Fuxan was the aggressor who by law could not then claim self-defense. He was seething over having lost the fight, and then knowing that he and Parker would be alone, he armed himself and went to Parker’s bedroom.

“He had damaged pride,” Didier told jurors. “He had his feelings hurt. He was beaten up, and he couldn’t get over it.”

Judge Stephen Enright of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Fuxan on Feb. 26.

Assistant District Attorneys Piper Didier and Douglas Rushton prosecuted the case.

Marital infidelity, a Kenner hookup and a kidnapping lead to prison for a North Carolina couple

A Jefferson Parish judge has sentenced Mishanda Reed to 11 years for prison for her involvement in the kidnapping of her extramarital lover in Kenner, a week after her husband Malcom Reed was sentenced to 13 years for the same crime.

Malcom Reed, 42, and Mishanda Reed, 45, both of Durham, N.C., were convicted of second-degree kidnapping and attempted second-degree kidnapping, respectively, by a Jefferson Parish jury on Sept. 28.

Mishanda Reed and the victim, now age 47 and living in Houston, Texas, attended Xavier University in New Orleans together in 1995 and dated for about five years. They had had a sexual encounter in recent years, after she was married.

In 2021, they communicated, and she told the victim – falsely – that she was divorced. On June 27, 2021, after the victim traveled to the New Orleans area to meet her, he drove to an airbnb that she rented with her credit card in the 1300 block of Lloyd Price Avenue in Kenner.

Inside, the victim walked to an upper-level loft. There, the victim said, Malcom Reed suddenly appeared, carrying a silver semiautomatic pistol in his left hand and an aluminum bat in the other. He ordered the victim to get on his knees. When the victim refused, Malcom Reed beat him with the bat.

Malcom Reed ordered Mishanda Reed to retrieve zip-ties, which he had in a bag. She did, and she used them to bind the victim at the wrists and ankles.

Malcom Reed then got the password to the victim’s cell phone and scrolled through the text messages between the victim and Mishanda Reed. Malcom Reed interrogated the victim about his intentions with his wife. Malcom Reed also pointed the pistol at the victim and threatened to kill him. Malcom Reed also cut the victim’s face during the interrogation.

Several hours later, the Reeds left the airbnb in separate cars, taking the victim with them. The Reeds removed the zip-ties from the victim’s wrists and ankles and left him in the 300 block of Alliance Street. The Reeds then drove to North Carolina.

A bystander saw the victim bleeding in the street and called 911. The Kenner Police Department arrived soon after, and the victim was rushed to a hospital for injuries that included a broken leg.

Police officers who searched the airbnb found blood spattered on the stair railing, a mirror, bed sheets, a door and elsewhere. Detectives identified the Reeds and obtained arrest warrants. The Reeds surrendered on Aug. 1, 2021.

The couple additionally was charged with aggravated battery. But jurors convicted Malcom Reed of the lesser misdemeanor charge of simple battery and acquitted Mishanda Reed of that crime altogether. Malcom Reed was sentenced to six months in jail for that offense.

Although the Reeds were tried and convicted together, they were sentenced separately.

During Malcom Reed’s sentencing hearing on Oct. 13, he expressed remorse but minimized his involvement by telling the court that he learned only that day that his wife was having an affair. He said he hid outside the Airbnb for 1 ½ hours and then, armed with the bat, confronted the victim inside. He said he was defending himself when explaining why he struck the victim with the bat.

The victim, in victim-impact testimony on Oct. 13, described the entire incident as “a premediated ambush” that included Mishanda Reed’s participation. He said he suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome because of the kidnapping and beating he received.

On Friday (Oct. 20), Mishanda Reed testified during her request for a new trial, presenting herself as a victim as well and saying she was not a willing participant in the kidnapping because she was frightened of her husband. From the witness stand and with her husband looking on, she admitted being an adulterous wife but asserted she loves both men. Mishanda Reed also complained that her trial lawyer, whom she has fired since she was convicted, steered her away from testifying.

In rejecting the new-trial request, Judge Shayna Beevers Morvant of the 24th Judicial District Court described Mishanda Reed’s testimony given Friday as “theatrical and full of hysteria.” Judge Beevers Morvant said Mishanda Reed had numerous opportunities to flee from her husband if she was, in fact, not a willing participant in the crime.

“I do not think she wants to face liability for the jury’s verdict,” the judge said in denying the new-trial motion.

Assistant District Attorneys Matthew Whitworth and Blaine Moncrief prosecuted the case.

Convicted of sexually abusing juveniles, Elias Abrego Zambrano faces life in prison

A Jefferson Parish jury on Wednesday evening (Oct. 19) found Elias Abrego Zambrano guilty of sexually abusing two children.

Zambrano, 54, was convicted as charged of first-degree rape of a juvenile under age 13, two counts of sexual battery of a juvenile under age 13 and two counts of indecent behavior with juveniles under age 13.

The crimes occurred in Kenner beginning as early as 2012 and September 2017. The crimes were first reported to the Kenner Police Department in March 2020 when the victims were ages 13 and 19.

Zambrano was a friend of the victims’ family. He denied victimizing the children.

The jury deliberated for about two hours before returning with its unanimous verdicts. Judge Ellen Shirer Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Zambrano on Oct. 26. First-degree rape carries a mandatory life sentence in prison without probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

Assistant District Attorneys Carolyn Chkautovich and Blaine Moncrief prosecuted the case.