Man charged in fatal shooting at Anytime Fitness in Opelousas

OPELUSAS, La. (KPEL News) – The alleged shooter in a dispute that turned deadly at Anytime Fitness in Opelousas has been indicted by a St. Landry Parish grand jury on charges of second-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm after Harrison Bordene died on that fateful day.

As KPEL News reported, the shooting happened on February 28, 2023. Investigators say Bordenaye and Jason Leiday — both 34 years old — had been in multiple disagreements over the past few weeks leading up to the incident. One of those disagreements happened at the Opelousas gym, which is located in the 1500 block of South Union Street near Donald Gardner Stadium.

Opelousas police say the shooting happened around 8:00 a.m. when the argument moved outside, where Bordenaye was killed with a single gunshot, despite life-saving measures by other people at the gym and first responders. This was despite gym management instructing Leiday not to go inside and confront Bordenay, who was already in the gym.

According to Louisiana law, “second-degree murder is the killing of a human being when the perpetrator has the specific intent to kill or cause great bodily harm” and carries a life sentence without parole, probation or parole if convicted.

A man has been charged after a drive-by shooting near a Benny’s supermarket in Opelousas, Louisiana

A St. Landry Parish grand jury also indicted Sadavian George, 17, on a charge of first-degree murder for allegedly carrying out the April 10 drive-by shooting^th near Benny’s Supermarket in Opelousas. Investigators say twenty-one .223 caliber shell casings were found at the crime scene. Roderick Aaron Jr. died in the accident.

According to Louisiana law, “first degree murder is the killing of a human being when the perpetrator has the specific intent to kill or do great bodily harm to more than one person.” It carries the death penalty or life in prison without parole, probation or parole if convicted.

Man convicted of killing victim near Central Middle School in Eunice, Louisiana

A Eunice man is facing significant time behind bars after a St. Landry Parish grand jury indicted him in the November 2019 shooting of another man who was riding his bicycle in the street when he was fatally shot.

According to KLFY.com, De’Omante Frank was riding his bicycle on East Maple Avenue when a vehicle pulled up and fired several shots. One of the bullets wounded Frank, causing him to die in the hospital. Because of how close the street runs near Eunice Central Middle School, the school was on lockdown.

Demiron L. Skinner, 23, who was 19 at the time of the shooting, was arrested within a week.

“The shooting appears to be gang retaliation,” then-Eunice Police Chief Randy Fontenot told KLFY at the time. “The players in the investigation have a history of prior shootings in Eunice.”

Skinner was charged with second-degree murder, but was convicted of manslaughter on Friday, April 14. Manslaughter is punishable by up to 40 years in prison. Skinner was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

We’ve reached out to St. Landry Parish District Attorney Chad Peter’s office for an update on Laney Claire Lomas, who was an 18-year-old student at Eunice High School at the time. She was arrested more than a week after Skinner was taken into custody on charges of accessory after the fact to second-degree murder for allegedly driving the vehicle used in the shooting, according to our news partners at KATC. She was later indicted on that charge, which carries a sentence of up to 5 years in prison.

This is the fourth homicide case that has been completed by the St. Landry Parish District Attorney’s Office in 2023. The district attorney’s office has had its hands full with all the recent shootings and recently announced the addition of more full-time felony prosecutors to fight serious crimes.

Let’s look back at other murder trials in 2023.

A St. Landry Parish grand jury indicted a Eunice man in an ambush shooting

OPELUSAS, La. (KPEL News) March 31, 2023 – A St. Landry Parish jury took just 15 minutes to find Leonard Miller, 36, guilty of murdering Clarence Mitchell – both of Eunice – in April 2022. Mr.

It was a quick verdict in a murder case that took less than a year to go to trial.

Son of former Opelousas police chief convicted of double murder

OPELUSAS, La. (KPEL News) – JaMarcus McClendon was sentenced to two life sentences for the brutal murders of 19-year-old Shawn Parrish and 21-year-old Nakia Ramar Jr. – both of Opelousas. According to the District Attorney’s Office of St. The Landry Parish murders took place just hours after Parish had celebrated his birthday.

The court ordered the two sentences to be served consecutively without the possibility of parole, probation or deferred adjudication.

Nearly six and a half years after two people were found ambushed in a Plaisance home, the son of former Opelousas Police Chief Martin McClendon has been found guilty of their deaths.

Sean Parrish, 19, and Nakia Ramar Jr., 21, both of Opelousas, were the two victims in the double homicide that took place in September 2016. According to the St. Landry Parish Chad Pitre, JaMarcus McClendon used an AK-47 to shoot his victims multiple times in the early morning hours. He was found guilty of first degree murder.

“The challenge in this case was the sheer amount of evidence and the number of witnesses involved,” said Attorney General Alyssa Gautreau.

“We promised the families of the victims that we would bring these older homicide cases to justice, and that’s what our team is doing,” Pitre said.

In February 2019, JaMarcus McClendon was charged in the double murder case. After leaving court, during which time police said he was attacked by two family members of one of the homicide victims as he was being escorted out of the courthouse. According to our news partners at KATC, the two were issued felony summonses for this altercation. Family members told KATC the attack happened after McClendon allegedly made a comment to one of them.

For the record, Chief McClendon was not on duty when JaMarcus was arrested. The elder McClendon wasn’t elected police chief until 2018 after serving with the Opelousas Police Department for 27 years, according to the Advocate. He was then defeated in 2022.