By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – A St. John the Baptist Parish grand jury has indicted two men on second-degree murder charges in connection with the May 6 shooting death of Jamar Vinnette, the first of a string of killings that have taken place in Reserve.

Carlshane Dennis, 22, and Carl Cosey, 29, both of Reserve, were named in the true bill of felony indictment returned in court Monday. Capt. Dane Clement, spokesman for the St. John Sheriff’s Office, said Dennis was arrested at his home following the indictment, while Cosey was already incarcerated in connection with an unrelated shooting on July 23 in LaPlace. Clement said both are being held at the Sherman Walker Correctional Facility in LaPlace. Dennis is being held on a $2 million bond, while Cosey is being held on a $2.6 million because of the previous arrest.

A third man, Steven Ellis, 23, was arrested June 28 in connection with the murder of Vinnette. Clement said Ellis remains in jail as well.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, Vinnette, 23, was gunned down in the 100 block of East 13th Street and found lying in a ditch on the side of the road. That killing was the first of four murders to take place in Reserve within blocks of each other. Three of the murders are believed to be connected, according to investigators.

Two days after Vinnette was killed, 29-year-old Eliza Fleming was found shot inside his home on East 23rd Street. The third occurred June 17, when Frank Lewis, 42, was found shot on East 14th Street.