CONVENT — A simmering feud involving at least two men in St. James Parish led to multiple reports of gunplay, an attempted murder arrest and a victim who was shot in the face.

Dacein Braxton, 30, is being held for attempted second-degree murder in St. James Parish Jail in Convent in lieu of a $250,000 bond.

St. James Sheriff Willy Martin Jr. said investigators believe Braxton shot Rogerelle Simon, 21, early in the morning Nov. 6 as part of an ongoing disagreement that may involve multiple people.

“Deputies believe there has been a little situation between (Braxton) and the victim for awhile,” Martin said.

“Everything that we are picking up shows the two men have been going at it for a couple of weeks. We don’t know the official reason for the fight, but we suspect there were other people involved.”

Since his arrest, deputies have not received much cooperation from the suspect, Martin said.

Deputies began their case after responding to 23077 Pine St. in Vacherie at 3:51 a.m. on Nov. 6 after a call about a man being shot in the face.

“Basically, it was like a drive-by shooting,” Martin said. “(Braxton) shot a man named Rogerelle Simon with a birdshot, it was a shotgun. A birdshot is a little lighter pellet or load, so Simon really got peppered with lead pellets out of a shotgun.

“Detectives investigating the shooting discovered that Simon had been shot on the right side of his face. To my understanding, he was shot one time and hit. How many pellets they dug out of his face, I don’t know. The officers said he had quite a few pellets in him.”

Martin said investigators believe Braxton fired the shot from a vehicle.

“We know that someone else was in the vehicle, but we have not been able to determine who that was,” Martin said.

While the shooting took place Nov. 6, Braxton’s arrest did not take place until Nov. 13.

“We were told there was some more gunplay after the first incident,” Martin said. “We were very fortune the public was engaged and gave us the information that we needed. The gunplay was between the victim, as well as the suspect. It was reported that Simon went looking for Mr. Braxton and it was reported that he had a weapon but we did not find one.”

Following the shooting, Simon was brought to St. James Parish Hospital in Lutcher, then transferred and stabilized at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge.

Simon’s injuries were not life-threatening, Martin said, adding Simon was released the same day.

At first, according to the Sheriff, Simon said he didn’t know who shot him, but after he was released, calls started coming into the Sheriff’s Office.

“We started getting calls from the public that some guys who were involved in the incident on Pine Street in Vacherie, and they were getting ready to go at it again,” Martin said.

“So we figured Simon knew all along who shot him.”

— By Raquel Derganz Baker