LULING — A 31-year-old Luling man is facing a first degree murder arrest, charged Wednesday after police found the body of a Metairie man on the side of the road in Hahnville.

St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office authorities said Ryan Dubuc, 28, left his home at approximately 5:30 a.m. Monday, heading to work at Cornerstone in Jefferson Parish, where he was a contractor.

Dubuc stopped at Birdie’s Food and Fuel in Luling, where a suspected gunman entered the vehicle with the victim and left. This in turn led to the robbery, carjacking and killing of Dubuc, authorities said.

The Sheriff’s Office was notified of a body located on a side road near Highway 3160 in Hahnville later Monday morning, eventually locating Dubuc with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

St. Charles Parish officials said they arrested Jerel Anthony Smith, 31, Wednesday morning without incident in relation to the robbery and murder. Smith is charged with first degree murder, armed robbery with use of a firearm and carjacking.

Through Dubuc’s murder investigation, detectives developed a witness to a Dec. 29 robbery, authorities said, which led to Smith being charged with armed robbery in that incident .

On Dec. 29 at the same Birdies Fuel and Fuel in Luling, a suspect approached a victim in the parking lot demanding money. After a brief struggle, the victim surrendered a small amount of money, and the suspect fled.

Smith is currently housed in the Nelson Coleman Correctional Center.