The boy was mourned Monday at his funeral in Hattiesburg, Miss., where he lived before moving with his father recently to Louisiana.
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Derrick Stafford, 32, of Mansura, and Norris Greenhouse Jr., 23, of Marksville, each face charges of second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder for the shooting death of Jeremy Mardis, who was killed when marshals fired on the child’s father’s vehicle on Tuesday.
Footage from a police body camera appears to show that the father of a 6-year-old autistic boy had his hands in the air before city marshals opened fire, severely wounding the motorist and killing the boy, CBS News has learned from a law enforcement source. The father, Chris Few, was critically injured and was treated for a gunshot wound to the head. Investigators did discover that Greenhouse Jr. knew Chris Few. Mardis was shot five times in the head and chest. He was pronounced dead on the scene. Superintendent of the Louisiana State Police Colonel, Mike Edmonson, commented on the case. He is listed in fair condition at Rapides Regional Medical Center in Alexandria. State Police began investigating the shooting an hour after it happened, he said. Both were charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.
Jeansonne spoke with The Associated Press after a closed hearing for the two marshals. The news organization reported that Jeansonne had not viewed the video himself, but that its contents were described by a judge during a hearing on Monday. Two other marshals that also took part in the vehicle chase have not been charged. Stafford and Greenhouse are among six officers named in a lawsuit filed by Ascension parish resident Ian Fridge.
The local marshals agency is run by school bus driver city marshal Floyd Voinche. He now is on paid administrative leave after his arrest, Grines said.
Two officers shot a 6-year-old boy and his father.
The case against Stafford and Greenhouse will be prosecuted by the office of Louisiana attorney general James D. Fridge’s suit says he did not resist and that he was in an open public area and not in any establishment where alcohol was served. He shrugged and said, “You can imagine”. “We didn’t cause these things to happen but we’ll find out how they did happen and we’ll find out what caused them to happen”, said Edmondson.
Few’s fiancee Megan Dixon (pictured) said: “No, he didn’t have a gun because I’m the reason why this all started”. Jeansonne told reporters outside the sheriff’s office about the bail amount. The order bars anyone involved in the case from providing information to the media. Rumors that Greenhouse’s truck was seen in the parking lot added to those suspicions.
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Jeremy was laid to rest on Monday. Family and friends went to waiting cars and joined behind as two police officers on motorcycles led the procession. The first grader was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. His 6-year-old, Jeremy Mardis, was strapped into his seatbelt in the front passenger seat.
