The indictment handed up by an Avoyelles Parish grand jury charged Derrick Stafford, 32, and Norris Greenhouse Jr., 23, with one count each of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.
Advertisement
The shooting also pushed into the spotlight a long running feud between Marksville’s mayor and city judge, which appears to be the reason the town’s marshal office suddenly began hiring deputies like Greenhouse and Stafford even though Marksville already has a full-fledge police force patrolling its streets. Parnell’s body camera captured the shooting that killed 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis and injured his father, Chris Few.
If convicted, the second-degree murder charge is punishable by a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.
Be Civil – It’s OK to have a difference in opinion but there’s no need to be a jerk. Jeremy Mardis has a younger sister who still can not understand what happened, the grandmother said. The grand jury will decide if there is enough evidence to formally indict the two men.
The video has not been publicly released but was described by the superintendent of the Louisiana State Police, Colonel Mike Edmonson, as “the most disturbing thing I’ve seen”.
Cathy Mardis said she has not seen the tape and can only imagine what is on there but added: “I thank God the tape is there”.
Greenhouse is a full-time Alexandria city deputy marshal. Greenhouse and Stafford were arrested a few days after the shooting after State Police took control of the investigation. He was autistic and non-verbal but very bright, she said.
Few’s attorney told reporters that the video shows the father with his hands in the air as the deputies open fire.
Greenhouse and Stafford were among four officers present at shooting, which occurred following a brief chase around 9:30 pm on November 3. Jeremy, an autistic first-grader who was buckled into the passenger seat of the auto, was shot multiple times in the head and torso and died at the scene. Stafford, a lieutenant and shift supervisor who’d worked for the department for eight years, has been suspended without pay, Lemoine said.
Advertisement
Kenneth Parnell and Lt. Jason Brouillette returned to work on Friday after they were cleared both of any wrongdoing in the deadly shooting.
