Post by CCADP on Aug 18, 2005 6:59:14 GMT -5
Local News:
West Orange PD nab murder suspect
By Royal M. Hopper III
The Orange Leader
It is only a matter of time before a man arrested by West Orange police a week ago on suspicion of shoplifting faces murder charges in Louisiana.
"It's a death penalty case because the murder happened in the commission of an armed robbery," said Sgt. Clifford Gatlin of the Alexandria (La.) Police Department.
Veal, 23, was arrested about by West Orange Police officer Dennis Hankins about 1 p.m. Aug. 9 at the West Orange Wal-Mart on Edgar Brown Drive.
Hankins discovered a .22 caliber pistol, a small quantity of marijuana and Xanax pills in Veal's possession, and as investigators later discovered, a skeleton in his closet. Veal was wanted for the murder of an Alexandria man in front of the man's wife, daughter and two friends during a robbery.
Christopher Benard, 26, of Alexandria, a town of 45,000 in central Louisiana near Interstate 49, was a passenger in the family truck driven by his wife July 26 .
The Benards' daughter and two friends were in the back of the truck when, for reasons police are still trying to decipher, Benard's wife pulled off the road and the group began talking to Veal.
Veal then produced a pistol and demanded money, wallets and purses from the truck's driver and passengers. Then for an equally inexplicable reason Veal shot Benard in the head, killing him.
"He had gotten everything he requested," Gatlin said about the robbery.
Neal is in the Orange County Jail on charges of theft, possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana and the unlawful possession of a weapon. Each charge garnered Veal a $500 bond, but he is also being held on a fugitive-from-justice murder warrant out of Alexandria.
Bonds on fugitive warrants are usually set when the suspects either waives extradition, meaning he does not oppose it, or it is ordered by the governor's office. If suspects oppose extradition, the governor's office of one state files what is called a with the governors office of the state holding the suspect. The state requesting extradition must prove probable cause for the warrant and must prove the person being held is the person they are looking for, Gatlin said, often by comparing fingerprints.
Veal "had a history" with the Alexandria police, and although his criminal records were not available as of press time, Gatlin said the department knew Veal very well.
Gatlin said it would likely take between seven days and two weeks to get Veal back into a jail in Louisiana, where he can be tried for first-degree murder - a capital crime in Louisiana punishable by life in prison or the death penalty.
Other capital crimes in Louisiana include treason and aggravated rape if the victim is less than 12 years of age or less. There are currently 24 people on death row in Louisiana.
Gatlin said the interstate is a relatively recent addition to the landscape in the central Louisiana town and has brought an upswing in drug-related crimes along with the extra road traffic.
Gatlin said it would likely take between seven days and two weeks to get Veal back into a jail in Louisiana, where he can be tried for first-degree murder - a capital crime in Louisiana punishable by life in prison or the death penalty.
Other capital crimes in Louisiana include treason and aggravated rape if the victim is less than 12 years of age or less. There are currently 24 people on death row in Louisiana.
Gatlin said the interstate is a relatively recent addition to the landscape in the central Louisiana town and has brought an upswing in drug-related crimes along with the extra road traffic.