A police body camera recorded the father of a 6-year-old autistic boy with his hands up and posing no threat as police fired into his car, severely wounding the motorist and killing his son, the man’s lawyer said Monday.

“This was not a threatening situation for the police,” said Mark Jeansonne, an attorney for Chris Few, who remained hospitalized and could not attend Monday’s funeral of his son, Jeremy Mardis.

Derrick Stafford, 32, of Mansura, and Norris Greenhouse Jr., 23, of Marksville, were ordered held on $1 million bonds Monday on second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder charges, Jeansonne said.

The lawyer said he hasn’t seen the video himself, but its contents were described during the hearing. Louisiana’s state police chief, Col. Mike Edmonson, said Friday that “it’s the most disturbing thing I’ve seen — and I will leave it at that.”

Few’s condition was improving Monday, but he had not been told as of midday that his son is dead, Jeansonne said. His stepfather, Morris German, said last week that Few had bullet fragments in his brain and lung.

Greenhouse is the son of a top assistant prosecutor for District Attorney Charles A. Riddle, who recused himself from the case on Monday, calling it “not good for any of us.”

Judge William Bennett set the officers’ bond during a hearing he held inside the jail after refusing media requests to open the proceedings. No transcripts were made available, and the judge later issued a sweeping gag order prohibiting anyone involved in the case, including potential witnesses and victims, from providing any information to the media.

Investigators have been reviewing forensics evidence, 911 calls and body camera recordings, but said little about them even before the gag order.

The official silence leaves many questions unanswered, including what prompted the fatal confrontation, and whether anyone else is being investigated for any crimes. At least two other officers were involved, authorities said, but their roles remain unclear.

Investigators have not suggested that race is a factor in the shooting, which may not fit neatly into a national debate about race and policing. Booking records describe the officers as African-American; no available records describe the race of the father and son.

Few, a boat pilot on the Red River, was on probation at the time of the shooting after pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated in February, according to court records.

Stafford is a Marksville Police lieutenant; Greenhouse is a city marshal. Both were on marshal duty Tuesday night. Initial reports suggested they were trying to serve Few with a warrant when he fled onto a dead-end road and then reversed his car in their direction at about 9:30 p.m.

But Edmonson said there was no evidence of a warrant, nor any gun at the scene.

The officers were moved from the jail in Marksville to a lockup in the central Louisiana city of Alexandria after Monday’s bond hearing, for reasons no one would explain, citing the gag order.

The possibility that they could post bond and remain free during the investigation didn’t sit well with some townspeople who gathered outside the jail.

“The same day the boy is being buried,” said Barbara Scott. “Shame, shame, shame.”

“This child couldn’t hurt a fly and his life is gone. I feel justice was not served,” added Latasha Murray.

Jeremy Mardis was by all accounts a happy first-grader at Lafargue Elementary in Effie, Louisiana, where he attended school after his parents split and he moved to Marksville, where his father’s family lives.

Jeremy was mourned Monday at his funeral in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where his mother, Katie Mardis, lives with the boy’s sister.

“He was just a very sweet loving little boy who enjoyed being at school and enjoyed his friends,” said Anita Bonnette, his assistant principal at Lafargue, where a crisis team was brought in to counsel Jeremy’s classmates and teachers.

According to tucsonnewsnow.com, Marksville Police officers and Ward 2 City Marshal Deputies 32-year-old Derrick Stafford and 23-year-old Norris Greenhouse Jr. are currently accused of shooting and killing a six year old boy, and critically wounding his father after a car chase. The bonds for Stafford and Greenhouse have been set at $1 million a piece.

…considering that this court is concerned that any further interviews with the press and/or media by any parties to this proceeding may unfairly prejudice the defendants right to fair trial as guaranteed by the United States Constitution; IT IS ORDERED that all parties to this proceeding and their attorneys, including any potential witnesses, victims, and/or their attorneys are hereby prohibited, directly or indirectly or through any third parties, from providing any information and/or evidence and/or alleged evidence to the press and/or media from this point forward.

According to Chris Few’s attorney Mark Jeansonne, body camera video shows Few had his hands in the air and did not pose a threat before police opened fire last week.

It’s still unclear what led to the initial car chase between four city marshal deputies, including Stafford and Greenhouse, and Chris Few. Few was driving a vehicle with his 6 year old son, Jeremy Mardis, inside. Louisiana State Police Col. Mike Edmonson says “We believe (Few and the officers) met each other, knew each other. Certainly as this progresses, we’ll find out more and more information. But I think in a town like this, everyone knows each other.”

CBS News is quoting sources as saying investigators are exploring whether one of the arrested deputies had a “personal grudge” against Christoper Few.

When the chase ended, with Few and Jeremy still in the vehicle, investigators say the officers opened fire. Few was critically injured. Jeremy, who police say was hit at least five times, died. He was buckled in the front passenger seat of the vehicle.

There were early claims that Few may have been armed. However, State Police investigators say there was no evidence Few had a gun.

“There’s no dirty business that happens around here. This thing is handled correctly, just like other matters in this community. This is a good community with good people, and this kind of mess doesn’t go on,” Avoyelles Parish Sheriff Doug Anderson said.

Few was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Few’s attorney says he is improving, but he has not been told about his son’s death.

Stafford and Greenhouse both face charges of second degree murder, for the death of Mardis; and attempted second degree murder in the shooting of Chris Few. The Louisiana Attorney General’s office will handle the prosecution of the two officers in the Marksville shooting, according to the spokesman for the AG’s office.

Attorney General James D. “Buddy” Caldwell issued the following statement today:

Today, my office received a recusal order from the 12th Judicial District Court in Avoyelles Parish in the case: State of Louisiana vs. Derrick Stafford and Norris Greenhouse, Jr., involving the shooting death of 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis.

Procedurally, we will begin a detailed and thorough investigation, leaving no stone unturned. I can simply assure you that at the end of the process, justice will be served.

Serious cases such as this are often referred to our office for handling. We have excellent personnel and resources to properly pursue such matters, and we will do so.

Both Norris and Stafford are also ordered to house arrest with electronic monitoring, to surrender all service firearms, and to surrender all badges and/or police officer certifications. Both officers have been moved to the Rapides Parish Detention Center. Because they are officers, it is standard procedure that they be put in isolation while they are in custody.

Jeremy Mardis will be laid to rest in Hattiesburg, MS, on Monday, November 9.

Two city marshals in the central Louisiana town of Marksville will be charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of a six-year-old autistic boy following a car chase involving his father, authorities announced late Friday.

Norris Greenhouse Jr., 23, a reserve officer, and Lt. Derrick Stafford, 32, were arrested Friday night by the Louisiana State Police, which is leading the investigation, CBS affiliate WAFB reported.

Jeremy Mardis was shot and killed Tuesday after his father, Christopher Few, led law enforcement officers on a chase. Few was wounded in the incident and is hospitalized in critical condition.

The marshals will also be charged with attempted second-degree murder of the father, Louisiana State Police Col. Michael Edmonson said at a news conference late Friday night.

Lt. Jason Brouillette and Sgt. Kenneth Purnell were also involved in the chase but have not been charged. All four officers were placed on administrative leave.

One of the officers was wearing a body camera which recorded the chase, the shooting and its aftermath.

“It is the most disturbing thing I’ve seen, and I’ll leave it at that,” Edmonson said, adding that the footage, witness interviews and forensic evidence led police to file charges.

“The initial statement to my investigators was that the vehicle was backing up, they feared for their lives and they started firing,” Edmonson told CBS News correspondent David Begnaud Friday morning.

“There were a lot of shots fired that night and they were coming in one direction. There’s nothing for us that indicates that any fire came from that SUV,” Edmonson said. “There was no weapon found in that SUV.”

State investigators want more information from the officers, Edmonson said before the arrests.

“I think the longer it takes for these officers to come forward and give us information, it’s more concerning,” Edmonson told CBS News Friday morning. “Come forward and tell us what happened.”

One of the cops has a very long list history of lawsuits and violence as well.

In October, 2011, Lt. Derrick Stafford was indicted by a Rapides Parish grand jury on two counts of aggravated rape. The case was resolved, we reached out to the clerk of court’s office for the outcome, we are awaiting those documents.

Lt. Derrick Stafford also has five pending civil lawsuits involving him in Avoyelles Parish.  He’s also worked for the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Department, Marksville Police Department and the Chenyville Police Department.  Norris Greenhouse Jr. was also named in several of the suits.  Greenhouse is a reserve officer with the Marksville Police Department, part-time Marksville City Marshal, and full-time Alexandria City Marshal.

All of the following civil suits are still pending in Avoyelles Parish:

January 3, 2011 — While arresting a woman, Stafford allegedly threw her in the backseat with her hands cuffed and tased her without warning in the left side of her stomach while she was sitting in the backseat.

July 4, 2012 — While the Fourth of July parade was in progress, a family with a dog suffering from seizures and a stroke says they tried to get across the parade to make it to a veterinarian’s and was told he could not go cross. The officer allegedly yelled at the wife and the husband ran across the street to make it to the vet. The man later called the sheriff’s office to make a complaint against the officer, and was arrested for disturbing the peace. While he was being arrested, Stafford reportedly arrived and asked to arrest the suspect himself and put his handcuffs on him. The man spent the night in jail and later filed a lawsuit. The lawsuit is still pending.

December 2012 — While breaking up a fight between two girls on an Avoylles Parish school bus, Stafford was working for the City of Marksville and allegedly pulled a 15-year-old girls’ arms behind her back and apparently broke it. The girl’s mother filed suit and it’s still open.

June 18, 2013 — Stafford and Greenhouse were driving a Marksville Police Department cruiser when they ran into an open gate owned by the Avoylles Parish Sheriff’s Department. They sued the department and the case is still open.

July 4, 2013 — Greenhouse and seven other officers, including Stafford,  broke up a fight during a Fourth of July Celebration by pepper spraying into the crowd.  It was here another officer allegedly arrested and assaulted a 14-year-old boy. A mother who was there with her three children, sued. The case is still pending. At the same event another man says he lost his keys in the confusion of the spray, and was slammed to the ground and assaulted by several officers who also allegedly pepper sprayed him again. The man sued. The suit is still pending.

The two men were also named in a July lawsuit filed in federal court in Lafayette against the city, Chief Smith, and five other Marksville police officers.

The suit was filed by Ian Fridge of Ascension Parish, who was booked in Marksville in July 2014 with resisting an officer, battery on an officer, remaining after being forbidden and possession of firearms on a premises where alcohol is served.
The arrest report Fridge filed with his lawsuit contains affidavits from Stafford and Greenhouse.

Stafford wrote a report indicating he and Greenhouse went to the Marksville Art and Music Festival to look for a man who festival-goers complained was wearing a holstered gun on the festival grounds. They allegedly found Fridge walking around wearing an LSU T-shirt and a Desert Eagle .40 caliber pistol strapped to his leg, the lieutenant’s report states.

Stafford alleges that he told Fridge to take his gun to his car, because he couldn’t carry it at an event where alcohol was sold. Fridge argued, and when he placed his hand on his gun Greenhouse grabbed him, Stafford alleges. Fridge continued to argue and fight with the officers and elbowed Stafford in the face. Stafford then says he pulled his Taser and fired on Fridge. At that time Greenhouse was able to handcuff Fridge.

As they were taking Fridge to the car, Stafford wrote that he “asked Mr. Fridge of why did he put the small children and public at risk the way he did.”

In his lawsuit, Fridge states he went to Marksville to provide people with information about the Libertarian Party. A core tenet of the party is the right to keep and bear arms, the suit states. To demonstrate that, several members of his group were wearing their holstered weapons, the suit states.

The police report accuses Fridge of having an odor of alcohol on his breath, but he denies drinking at the event. He claims the officers taunted him to try to persuade him to draw his weapon, and accused him of being from out of town. He claims in his suit that he offered to take his gun to his car, but was “startled by the unanticipated use of force.” He denies resisting the officers, and claims the officers were shouting things like “stop resisting” for the benefit of onlookers.

Fridge claims he told officers he had just had surgery on his shoulder and wrist, at which time the officers tightened the handcuffs on his wrists. He also claims that he was hit by the Taser after he was cuffed and lying facedown on the ground.
Fridge also alleges that the officers deleted video of the incident he had managed to capture on his cell phone.

WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, Sports

Louisiana State Police are investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in Marksville on Martin Luther King Drive.

According to State Police, City Marshals from the Ward 2 office were in pursuit of a vehicle. City Marshals fired their weapons at the vehicle at the conclusion of the pursuit.

State Police confirmed that the driver of the vehicle is in critical condition.

Avoyelles Parish coroner Dr. L. J. Mayeux identified the driver as Chris Few. Few is in critical condition and is the boy’s father.

His passenger was identified as 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis. The boy was pronounced dead. Mardis was a first grader at Lafargue Elementary.

State Police have not identified the officers involved in the shooting.

A Louisiana man is accused of riding his horse drunk down a stretch of highway and told authorities his choices were safe because “the horse knows the way home,”television WBRZ reported.

Authorities said Jake Williams drove his vehicle and horse trailer to a daiquiri shop in Denham Springs, Louisiana, and decided to ride the horse rather than drive home early morning on Tuesday.

Williams was stopped by authorities while riding the horse, named Sugar, on the side of Highway 16.The Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Officecited Williams for disturbing the peace by public intoxication. The sheriff’s office said riding a horse would not qualify Williams for a driving while intoxicated offense.

“I was riding my horse down the side of 16,” Williams explained as he was being issued a ticket for being drunk in public on the side of Highway 16.

A deputy responded to complaints about Williams riding his horse from the bar when she found him. She explained she could not arrest Williams for a DWI offense because he was on a horse, so she ticketed him.

“When you get a little too much to drink, why not ride a horse?” he told reporter Brett Buffington, “It’s safer that way. The horse knows the way home.”

Williams eventually got the message, had a family member pick up him and his horse and said he won’t do it again.

“When you get a little too much to drink, why not ride a horse?” he told WBRZ-TV. “It’s safer that way. The horse knows the way home.”

Williams said he will refrain from riding while intoxicated in the future. A family member was contacted to take Williams and Sugar home.

Raymond Mott pictured giving the Nazi salute at a KKK rally

A cop in Louisiana has been fired after a photo of him at a Ku Klux Klan rally in North Carolina has surfaced.

Mainstream media reported that the Lake Arthur town council unanimously voted to terminate Raymond Mott earlier this week after the photo started circulating on Facebook.

“The picture speaks for itself,” Mott said. “I’m standing at a rally against illegal immigration. There’s not much to be said about the picture. I’ve never denied it was me.”

The photo was apparently taken at a Klan rally at an undisclosed location in North Carolina last summer. It was said to have been an anti-immigration rally.

The former Lake Arthur officer said the town council did not follow proper protocol in firing him and that his termination was illegal. He said he plans to take legal action against the town.

Mott said information has been released that puts his family at risk, according to KTAC.

Community members who were at the meeting on Wednesday to fire him said his termination was in everyone’s best interests.

 
KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, Louisiana

Robert Minjarez Jr. with his mother, Catherine Cortez

SCOTT, La. — A grand jury declined to indict Louisiana police officers who killed a man by holding him down and asphyxiating him until he was unresponsive.

Robert Minjarez Jr., 30, died five days after officers arrested him outside of a gas station on March 2, 2014. During the arrest, several officers remained wholly or partly on top of Minjarez after his hands and legs were cuffed.

For about five minutes, Minjarez is heard on audio from the dash cams screaming, “Help, help. Help me. Get off. You’re going to kill me.” “You’re going to suffocate…” and “I can’t breathe” three times. At one point an officer can be heard telling Minjarez, “You got 265 pounds on your back, you’re not going anywhere!”

During the ordeal, Minjarez cried and screamed, his voice becoming “increasingly muffled, hoarse and strained” according to the coroner’s report, which listed the primary cause of death as “compressional asphyxia due to face-down physical restraint by law enforcement officers.”

Minjarez was taken to the hospital by ambulance. The report states Minjarez “had blue ears and was not breathing initially.” He remained in intensive care until declared brain dead, and was later declared dead on March 7, 2014.

Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation themselves, and and turned their findings over to the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office and the FBI. The FBI New Orleans Division released a statement confirming the investigation.

“The investigation did not develop any information with which the DOJ Civil Rights Unit could prosecute,” the statement read.

The names of the officers responsible have not been released.

Matt Peyronnin talks about the killing of his son and is showing all the bullet holes in his house.

Tabatha Peyronnin awoke early Wednesday morning to her 19-year-old son shaking her.

Matthew Peyronnin told her he thought burglars were stalking their mobile home, on the outskirts of French Settlement, and he went to get a shotgun.

“As soon as he opened the door, (gun)fire rang out,” Tabatha Peyronnin recalled in an interview Wednesday afternoon.

Her son and the family’s dog were shot, and one bullet hit Matthew Peyronnin’s gun, which flew out of his hand, his mother said.

The teen, bleeding, crawled toward the kitchen, and Tabatha Peyronnin moved to take the gun herself to protect the home as a bullet whizzed within inches of her head, she said.

Before she reached the firearm, she heard the people outside identify themselves as the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office.

A deputy shot Peyronnin several times, though he is expected to recover. When he is released from Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, he will be booked into the Livingston Parish Jail on a count of attempted second-degree murder of a police officer, State Police wrote in a news release.

Hours after the shooting, law enforcement and family members gave differing accounts of what happened at the home on Queen Florence Farms Road, a gravel road surrounded by woods near King George Park.

According to State Police, who are investigating the shooting, parish deputies received a call about 2 a.m. saying Matthew Peyronnin was armed with a shotgun and threatening suicide.

When deputies arrived on scene, they “made contact with (Matthew) Peyronnin on the front porch of the residence, at which time (Matthew) Peyronnin raised a shotgun in the direction of the deputies. Confronted with the weapon, a LPSO Deputy fired and struck (Matthew) Peyronnin several times,” troopers wrote in a news release.

Matthew Peyronnin’s parents say the state’s account is untrue.

“Their statements? Total lies,” Tabatha Peyronnin said.

She said she could see her son when he went to the door, and he never raised his gun. He didn’t have a chance. He never even made it through an exterior glass door, which was shattered by the gunfire, she said.

Furthermore, she said, the deputies never identified themselves until after the shooting began, and their cruisers were not lit.

She compared Wednesday morning’s incident to another run-in with parish law enforcement from a few weeks or months prior. Once again, deputies were sent to check on Matthew Peyronnin, who had talked about hurting himself in the past and received mental health treatment, his mother said.

But on that earlier call, deputies announced themselves as they arrived, Tabatha Peyronnin said.

Recently, Matthew Peyronnin may have been upset, even “heartbroken” over his relationship with a woman, but he generally seemed happy and was excited to start a new job working with his father, Tabatha Peyronnin said.

She was not certain about the exact threat that led someone to call for law enforcement to check on her son.

State Police Lt. J.B. Slaton said only that the caller thought Matthew Peyronnin was suicidal and that “she had good reason (to believe) he had the means to commit suicide.”

The family and State Police both agreed that Matthew Peyronnin never fired his shotgun.

“I believe they seen the gun and just opened fire. … They just opened fire on my baby. … He was trying to protect his family,” Tabatha Peyronnin said.

“I was in here screaming like any mom would. I was watching my baby bleeding. … All he said was ‘Mama, they shot me. Mama, they shot me,’ over and over again.”

His father, Matt Peyronnin, said his son was hit four times. Matthew Peyronnin’s attorney, Franz Borghardt, said he was shot once in the neck, once in the hip and twice in the leg. Borghardt said it was too early to determine the long-term effects of the wounds.

The Peyronnin family has not been allowed to see Matthew Peyronnin due to his pending arrest, Borghardt said. However, the attorney met with Matthew Peyronnin on Wednesday afternoon and said he appeared clear-headed, all things considered, but that “he’s obviously scared” of the criminal case. Borghardt said the family has not yet decided whether to file a civil suit, but they have not excluded the possibility.

Borghardt said that when he arrived at the hospital, Matthew Peyronnin’s first question was whether his family, including his dog, were safe.

The family’s weimaraner, Thor, was struck by gunfire, a bullet grazing its head deep enough to reveal the skull, said Matt Peyronnin, the father. The dog is expected to survive.

Matt Peyronnin walked through the home Wednesday afternoon, showing bullet-sized holes in furniture, walls, a cabinet and ceiling. Family members estimated more than a dozen shots were fired.

State Police have not yet released how many deputies were on scene during the shooting, how many shots were fired or the type of gun used, Slaton said.

Matthew Peyronnin

They do believe the shots were fired by a single deputy, whose name has not been released.

In a brief written statement, Sheriff Jason Ard said the deputy has been placed on administrative leave with pay until State Police conclude their investigation. Ard declined to comment on the state’s case.

Slaton could not predict how long the investigation might take to untangle precisely what happened. He said detectives will give equal weight to all victims, whether they be parish deputies or members of the Peyronnin family.

Tuesday was the third time in the past 9 months that Livingston Parish law enforcement shot a man while responding to a potential suicide.

In February, Denham Springs City Police shot and killed truck driver Robert Kohl near the Bass Pro Shops. In August, a parish deputy fatally shot Freddie LeBlanc outside his home on Old Baton Rouge Highway near the Tangipahoa Parish line.

In both cases, officers said the deceased pointed a gun toward law enforcement, and in both cases the shooting was ruled justified.