L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Authorities in St. John arrested a Reserve man wanted in connection with a shooting in November that sent three men to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, said a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.

Capt. Dane Clement, public information officer for the St. John Sheriff’s Office, said an anonymous tip called in to the Sheriff’s Office helped deputies locate and apprehend Demario Gray, 28, 223 14th St. Reserve. Clement said when deputies arrived at Gray’s home the suspect retreated into the residence but later surrendered to authorities without incident. Gray is being held on a $400,300 bond at the Sherman Walker Correctional Facility in LaPlace on two counts of attempted second-degree murder, two counts of aggravated second-degree battery, aggravated criminal damage to property and illegal use of weapons.

Demario Gray

Clement said Gray had been wanted since Nov. 28, when he was identified as the shooter in an incident in a parking lot in the 100 block of East 24th Street in Reserve.

According to a report on the incident, authorities were called out to the area just after midnight on reports of a fight in the parking lot. When deputies arrived they found a man on the ground with a gunshot wound to the right leg. The victim was transported to River Parishes Hospital for treatment.

The investigation later revealed that two other victims in the shooting were able to drive themselves to River Parishes Hospital. One victim was shot in the right leg and the other had wounds to his lip and both legs.

Clement said Gray had fired on the victims as they attempted to drive away in two vehicles.

Sheriff Wayne Jones said in a statement that the anonymous tip that led to the arrest shows how community participation and law enforcement working together can successfully make neighborhoods safer.