Hilda Voisin Buquet
August 25, 2009
Mary Little McFarland
August 27, 2009
Houma Police detectives last week identified the man whom they believe shot to death two cousins at a house on Clay Street in Houma on July 28.
Jacobby Jackson Lee, 22, 2618 Daniel Turner Trailer Court #12, was already being held at the Terrebonne Parish Jail for shooting Gail Collins, 53, on July 30 at her home at 1400 Dunn St. in Houma.
Bullet casings found at both the Clay and Dunn street residences matched, said Lt. Jude McElroy with Houma Police’s Investigative Services Bureau.
Last week, Lee was also identified as a suspect in an armed robbery that occurred on July 21 in the 300 block of Merrill Drive in Houma in which shots were fired and a truck was stolen. Officers recovered three spent .40 caliber bullet casings at the scene.
Houma Police also identified Lee, who has an extensive criminal record, as the man suspected of snatching a purse from a woman in a lounge parking lot on Main Street on July 26, McElroy said.
Within two hours of the Dunn Street shooting, Houma Police and Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s officers apprehended Lee without incident hiding under a house on Columbus Street in Houma. Lee was in possession of 114 grams of marijuana at the time of his arrest.
He was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, possession with the intent to distribute marijuana and resisting an officer. He was then transported to the Terrebonne jail awaiting trial or bond.
Detectives matched ballistic evidence found at the scenes to connect Lee to the crimes, according to a Houma Police release.
The dual murders on Clay Street were discovered after officers responded to suspicious activity at the residence. Officers found Michael D. Hebert, 33, of Houma, and Michael Gerard Hebert, 25, of Belle Rose, inside the house. Each had been shot one time.
“We’d been at it awhile,” McElroy said about the effort to identify a suspect in the crimes. He could not go into detail, but McElroy said witness statements and photo lineups were involved during the investigation.
“A lot came into play,” he said.
The release states that on Aug. 20, Lee was charged with armed robbery relating to the July 21 Merrill Drive incident; purse snatching for the July 26 Main Street incident; and two counts of first-degree murder for the July 28 Clay Street homicides.
He was also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a stolen firearm relating to the Dunn Street crime.
In an unrelated incident, Houma Police last week arrested the third suspect in the shooting death of Steven Sneeze, 22, of Houma, on July 19, according to a Houma Police release. Houma Police found Sneeze in the yard of a residence in the 800 block of Canal Street shot once in the leg, hip and head.
On July 20, police arrested Chris Frank, 28, of Houma, and John Frank, 29, also of Houma, for the first-degree murder of Sneeze and attempted first-degree murder. The Franks were incarcerated awaiting trial or bond.
The release states that police detectives believe the killing is related to the shooting of Robert Mitchell Jr., of Houma, at the same location on July 3. Mitchell, who was shot in his right shoulder, was treated for the wound and released.
A third suspect in Sneeze’s shooting, Keidrike Ayo, 20, 1768 North Tonti St. in New Orleans, turned himself in to Houma Police on Monday. The release states Ayo is the final suspect in Sneeze’s death. Warrants had been filed on Ayo for first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, according to the release. Ayo had been featured on the television crime program Wheel of Justice on New Orleans’ ABC affiliate.
Houma Police are still looking for Mark Griffin, 33, 3005 Kingston St. in Kenner, as a suspect in the Mitchell shooting. Warrants were filed on Griffin for attempted first-degree murder and aggravated criminal damage to property.
Jacobby Jackson Lee arrested in Clay Street shooting of two cousins
