Sheriff Normand: Deputy murdered in 'cold blood'
JEFFERSON PARISH, LA (WVUE) - During a news conference Wednesday night, Sheriff Newell Normand identified the suspect in the shooting of one of his deputies as 19-year-old Jerman Neveaux of New Orleans, calling the officer's killing a "cold-blooded murder."
The shooting happened at about 12:30 p.m. near the intersection of Manhattan Boulevard and Ascot Street.
Normand said 50-year-old Deputy David F. Michel Jr. was on proactive patrol in Harvey when he saw Neveaux following someone.
"Detective Michel, while patrolling in the Manhattan corridor and throughout the Pebble Walk subdivision, noticed an individual who was following behind someone else who probably appeared to be nervous," Normand said. "And we know that because the individual being followed was on the phone with his girlfriend articulating that he was very concerned about being followed by this individual.
"...And Detective Michel pulled up and immediately told that individual to move on very quickly and approached [Neveaux.] He grabbed that individual and placed him on the car and proceeded to attempt to try and search him."
Normand said as the body search began, Neveaux spun around and went chest-to-chest with the deputy, pulled a gun from his waistband, reached around Michel's shoulder and fired into the deputy's upper back.
Normand said Neveaux fired twice more as Deputy Michel lay on the ground.
Neveaux was arrested a short time later in the 1500 block of London Cross Street in Harvey. Normand said he was combative and still armed with a .38-caliber Rossi revolver when officers wrestled him to the ground. Normand said he tried to escape custody after he was handcuffed.
"Neveaux does not have much of a criminal history, although in February of 2016 he was arrested by the New Orleans Police Department for contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and possession of a firearm," Normand said. "He pled guilty in June, just a couple of weeks ago, to possession of stolen property - a stolen gun - and was placed on probation."
Normand said Neveaux later told officers that he didn't want to go back to jail, saying he knew Michel would have found the gun on him.
"So he killed a deputy," Normand said.
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