Teen accused of killing Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputy denied bond

15th August 2016   ·   0 Comments

The 19-year-old man accused of killing a Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputy can be held without bond after “strong evidence” linked him to the crime, a judge ruled Monday, Aug. 8.

WWL News reported that Jerman Neveaux was booked on charges including first-degree murder after he allegedly shot Deputy David Michel on the West Bank in June.
Among the evidence was a five-shot revolver found on Neveaux when he was arrested a short time after the shooting. Ballistic tests confirmed that was the weapon used to fire three shots that killed Michel, a detective testified.

Neveaux’s arrest has led to questions about how authorities took the him into custody. A cellphone video taken during his arrest appears to show officers beating him, and a mug shot released after he was booked showed him with a swollen eye and cuts on his face.

Following Monday’s hearing, Neveaux’s attorney Martin Regan said that he has been trying to get his client treatment he has needed since the arrest.

“We’ve been attempting to get medical treatment for this young man,” Regan told WWL. “He continues to have internal bleeding. He continues to be told by the medical staff eat University Medical Center that he’s got internal bleeding that can only be corrected by surgery,”

On August 1, Jefferson Parish Magistrate Commissioner Patricia Joyce denied a request by Regan and attorney Adam Beckman for CT scans of Neveaux’s brain, facial bones, abdomen and pelvis to assess “spinal cord contusions” and difficulty walking since he was arrested.

She denied the request by Neveaux’s attorneys after JPSO attorney Joseph Lopino told the judge that the 19-year-old’s medical records show that CT scans of the area listed were already done while Neveaux was a patient at University Medical Center in New Orleans.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said Neveaux suffered a fractured eye socket and other cuts to his face during the arrest. Regan says that his client was severely beaten by deputies and is still suffering from the violent encounter with police.

Regan told Joyce Aug. 1 that his client had blood clots in his kidneys and rectal bleeding.

JPSO attorney Lopino argued that Neveaux has been taken to University Medical Center for medical exams on more than four occasions since he was transferred to Nelson Coleman Correctional Center in St. Charles Parish.

“It might not be the medical treatment you want, but he’s getting medical treatment,” Joyce told Regan.

Regan also said he was concerned about the safety of his client because he is in close proximity to a number of JPSO deputies who knew Deputy Michel, who was killed in June. He said that the deputies have made comments about Michel to Neveaux on several occasions.

Neveaux was scheduled to be back in court Friday, Aug. 12, regarding his request for medical treatment and other defense motions.

Pat Bryant, one of the leaders of Justice & Beyond, told WBOK radio Wednesday that he visited Neveaux recently in jail and was very concerned by what he saw.

“He’s looking bad,” Bryant told WBOK. “He has double vision. He can’t stand up and walk unassisted. He’s bleeding — he’s in bad shape.

“They’re trying to kill him,” Bryant added. “He killed a cop and they’re trying to withhold medical care for him. This brother bleeds every day from internal injuries.”

Bryant said the denial of medical attention to Neveaux is part of the JPSO’s plan to exact revenge on the suspect for taking the life of one of their own. “I believe they have a program to kill him before there’s a trial,” he told WBOK.

The cellphone video of Neveaux’s June 22 arrest in the backyard of a townhouse in the 1 500 block of London Cross Road has raised questions about the use of excessive force by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. In the video a deputy can reportedly be seen delivering at least 10 blows to an area near Neveaux’s head. The FBI Civil Rights Task Force is investigating circumstances surrounding the arrest.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office was already on the radar of federal officials after the Feb. 2016 shooting death of Eric Harris who was killed in Central City after he was pursued by JPSO deputies from the Oakwood Shopping Center on the West Bank to the East Bank of New Orleans.

This article originally published in the August 15, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.