crime scene police tape do not cross

The Daily Iberian has learned a 14-year-old is in custody, wanted for second-degree murder charges of a juvenile when a body was found earlier this week.

The body was found near a tree line off West Admiral Doyle Drive and had been there for a few days, police said. There was a gunshot wound.

On Tuesday night, New Iberia Police Department Chief Todd D’Albor and New Iberia Mayor Freddie DeCourt held a press conference concerning the event and the suspect.

Today, police confirmed to newspaper the suspect is in custody.

Here is the video of the press conference by Michael Messerly and the reporting on the incident from Corey Vaughn:

New Iberia Police Department is investigating its second juvenile homicide case of the year after a body was found early this week.

At a press conference held at the Cliff Aucoin Building on Main Street, NIPD Chief Todd D’Albor said officers responded to the 500 block of West Admiral Doyle Drive at 2:37 p.m. on Monday, where a deceased body was reported to the department.

Officers discovered the body of a juvenile male in a tree line of two wooden fences upon arrival and are investigating the death as a homicide. The body had reportedly been there for several days.

By the end of the press conference, D’Albor was able to confirm that the death was the result of a gunshot wound and that a warrant had been obtained for a 14-year-old juvenile male who is considered a suspect. The juvenile is being sought on charges of second degree murder and obstruction of justice.

The investigation is on the heels of another case reported last week where a 15-year-old boy died from multiple gunshot wounds in New Iberia.

“Law enforcement is not in the business of raising children, but we will hold the parents accountable,” D’Albor said. “From this point forward, parents that are unable or unwilling to provide supervision for children will be charged accordingly.”

Mayor Freddie DeCourt called both deaths alarming, and encouraged the community to say something if they see something.

“We need to pull together and address these issues as fast as we can,” DeCourt said.