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Post by meme on Jul 5, 2012 23:40:32 GMT -5
Lafayette police report murder arrest in case of missing student Mickey Shunick The Associated Press 07/05/2012 9:30 PM Authorities say a registered sex offender from St. Landry Parish has been booked on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the disappearance last May of a Lafayette college student. St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said Thursday night that 33-year-old Brandon Scott Lavergne was booked on first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping charges by police in Lafayette, where University of Louisiana student Mickey Shunick went missing May 19. Guidroz said the arrest came as his department helped Lafayette police search Lavergne's residence for evidence. The search continued Thursday night. Guidroz had no details on what was found. Lafayette police have released no details. A news conference has been set for 1 p.m. Friday. mobile.nola.com/advnola/pm_29227/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=YwY5l4si |
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Post by meme on Jul 6, 2012 12:25:28 GMT -5
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Post by meme on Jul 6, 2012 15:02:38 GMT -5
Posted: Friday, 06 July 2012 2:20PM Police mum on why Shunick is believed dead Lafayette's police chief says a burned truck found recently in Texas was registered to the man now facing a murder charge in the disappearance of college student Mickey Shunick. Police Chief Jim Craft on Friday would not detail the evidence that has led police to believe that Shunick is dead. Thirty-three-year-old Brandon Scott Lavergne was booked Thursday with first-degree murder and with aggravated kidnapping in connection with Shunick's May 19 disappearance. Craft said that much work remains in the investigation. He said the truck that was found in Texas was registered to Lavergne and is believed to be the white truck that is seen on a video taken early on the morning of May 19. That video shows Shunick, on her bicycle, in the same area. Michaela "Mickey" Shunick was last seen shortly before 2 a.m. on May 19, days before her 22nd birthday. She was riding her bicycle home from a friend's house in an area popular with college students. Eight days after she vanished, local fishermen called a tip line to say they had found a bicycle partially submerged in a remote, swampy area under a highway bridge. Shunick's black Schwinn bicycle had a damaged rear tire when the fishermen found it about 25 miles from Lafayette in Iberville Parish. Soon after she went missing, video surveillance of Shunick, a student at the University of Louisiana, captured her shortly after she left her friend's house. At the time, investigators said they were seeking information about a late model, white, four-door pickup truck seen on the video She is described as a white, 5-foot-1, 115 pound female with long, wavy blonde hair. Authorities searched Lavergne's St. Landry Parish residence for evidence Thursday. The state's online list of registered sex offenders says Lavergne was convicted of aggravated oral sexual battery in 2000 and was released in 2008. www.wwl.com/pages/13653287.php?contentType=4&contentId=10993286 |
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Post by meme on Jul 6, 2012 15:03:23 GMT -5
UPDATE: Suspect in woman's disappearance not cooperating Sex offender booked on first-degree murder and kidnapping charges. Published On: Jul 06 2012 05:43:08 AM CDT Updated On: Jul 06 2012 02:18:59 PM CDT LAFAYETTE, La -Evidence shows Brandon Scott Lavergne's truck was in the Whiskey Bay area where Mickey Shunick's bicycle was found on May 26, according Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft. Lavergne,a registered sex offender, is charged with first degree murder and aggravated kidnapping, according to a report from KATC in Lafayette. Aggravated kidnapping constitutes a charge of first degree murder, according to Craft, who led a 1 p.m. press briefing. State Police pulled over Lavergne on July 5 near I-49 and I-10, and he was arrested on an unrelated warrant relatedto sex offender registration. Lavergne requested an attorney and has since refused to cooperate with the police investigation. On June 14, police were tipped off about a white truck possibly involved in the disappearance of Shunick, a student at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. Police say Lavergne's truck, a white Chevy pickup truck, was found burned in San Jacinto County, TX. It was reported stolen in Montgomery County, TX, but the chief wouldn't say whether Lavergne was the person who reported it stolen. Since early in the investigation, detectives havebeen looking for a person of interest and a white pickup seen on video surveillance in the same area where Shunick was last seen on her bicycle. The truck was seen traveling directly behind her and Lavergne was identified as the driver, said Craft. When Lavergne was arrested yesterday, he was in a new, white Chevy pickup truck. "We continue today with our efforts to locate and bring Mickey home," he said. Lavergne has been offshore for the last two weeks. Police believe Mickey was taken between St. Mary Street and the Blackham Coliseum, and Lavergne may have been riding around, looking for someone to victimize that night. Police wouldn't indicate if there were signs of a struggle or why they believe Mickey is dead. There's still no word on Mickey's location, and there is no apparent relationship between Lavergne and Mickey. Evidence indicates her bike was hit from behind by a vehicle. Shunick went missing May 19, days before her 22nd birthday. She was last seen cycling home late at night. The arrest came as St. Landry Parish sheriff investigators helped Lafayette police search Lavergne's residence for evidence, Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said Thursday. www.ktbs.com/news/UPDATE-Suspect-in-woman-s-disappearance-not-cooperating/-/144844/15423896/-/oltjwp/-/index.html |
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Post by meme on Jul 6, 2012 16:09:59 GMT -5
Clues from bike scene lead police to alleged Shunick killer SWORDS – Clues collected from her bicycle, found submerged in the Whiskey Bay area eventually led police to the accused killer of Mickey Shunick. Law enforcement sources assert that that evidence led investigators to registered sex offender Brandon Scott Lavergne, 33, previously convicted of tying, blindfolding and sexually assaulting a teenager while stationed at Fort Polk near Leesville. He was arrested Thursday afternoon on first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping warrants signed by 15th District Judge Marilyn Castle. No bond is set on the capital charge; a $250,000 bond is set on the kidnapping charge. Officers and technicians were at Lavergne’s mobile home in the community between Lawtell and Eunice late into the night. Throughout the afternoon and evening officers emerged from the property with bags presumably containing possible evidence to support the state’s charges. A link that allegedly connected Lavergne to the case was developed from the Whiskey Bay crime scene, sources said. A press conference is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday in Lafayette to discuss the case, police said. Shunick, 22, disappeared on May 19 after bicycling from a friend’s home about 2 a.m. in Lafayette to her home. She has not been reported seen since. www.raynetoday.com/view/full_story/19218904/article-Clues-from-bike-scene-lead-police-to-alleged-Shunick-killer?instance=secondary_news_state_left_column |
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Post by meme on Jul 7, 2012 1:00:13 GMT -5
Wrong article  |
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Post by meme on Jul 9, 2012 10:52:14 GMT -5
Suspect in Shunick case has troubled past 2:30 AM, Jul 8, 2012 A picture of a troubled young man is starting to emerge of Brandon Scott Lavergne, the man arrested and charged with first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping in the Mickey Shunick case. A former classmate, Tanya Meche, who attended Church Point Middle School and Church Point High School with Lavergne, said he was a troubled teen who was bullied and harassed by classmates. “He was bullied a lot,” said Meche. “It was really bad. He would never talk to anyone and he didn’t have any friends, even though he played football. They gave him hell.” Meche said she often felt bad for Lavergne and worried that one day he’d snap, though she never imagined he could harm anyone. Church Point High School yearbooks indicate Lavergne attended the school from his freshman year, 1994-1995, through his junior year, 1996-1997, Principal Lee Ward Bellard told The Daily Advertiser. Lavergne’s photograph does not appear in the following yearbook, what would have been his senior year. Bellard said records indicate Lavergne did not graduate from Church Point High. Many people in the Church Point community know Lavergne’s father, who is supposedly very ill, Meche said. She described him as a nice man. Meche didn’t know much about Lavergne’s mother, but she said he has a brother who has moved out of the state. The community of Church Point is still having a hard time dealing with the news. Two women at a hair salon Saturday morning said everybody in town is talking about Lavergne’s arrest. “We are all still in complete shock,” Meche said. “It’s just so weird.” It’s unclear what Lavergne did after leaving Church Point High School sometime between 1997 and 1998. By April 1999, he had earned his GED and was in the U.S. Army at Fort Polk. While at Fort Polk, he was arrested by the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office and charged with one count each of oral sexual battery and aggravated burglary. According to police reports, around 1:30 a.m. on April 12, 1999, Lavergne allegedly climbed through the window of a home in Redell, an unincorporated area of Evangeline Parish a few miles north of Mamou. The victim’s account of what happened is that she was asleep when Lavergne entered her bedroom. She said he blindfolded her with her own shirt, tied her hands behind her back and forced her to perform oral sex on him. Lavergne told police a different story. In his statement, Lavergne claimed he met the victim when he dated her cousin. He said she invited him to her home, that she let him in and had consensual oral sex with him. He pleaded guilty and was convicted on Feb. 25, 2000, to the aggravated oral sexual battery charge in exchange for prosecutors dropping the aggravated burglary charge. Lavergne was sentenced to 10 years in prison, which he served at the C. Paul Phelps Correctional Center in DeQuincy in Calcasieu Parish, said Pam Laborde, communications director with the Louisiana Department of Corrections. While he was in prison, Lavergne was busy fighting his conviction. He filed for post-conviction relief with the 13th Judicial District Court in Evangeline Parish, claiming ineffective counsel, illegal sentencing and a violation of his constitutional rights. He was denied on all grounds on Jan. 30, 2003. Lavergne then took his case to the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal, but was denied at that level, too, in July 2003. His third attempt was with the Louisiana Supreme Court, where he filed a writ claiming violation of his constitutional rights. That request was denied in August 2004. He gave it one more shot in 2004, but again was denied. In August 2008, Lavergne was released from prison “to good time parole supervision,” Laborde said. He was under supervision with the Lafayette district of probation and parole until February 2010. “He did serve 10 years between prison and his parole release,” Laborde said. “He satisfied his sentence.” Upon his release, Lavergne was required to register as a Tier III sex offender, which is reserved for the most serious offenders who must register for the rest of their lives. Written notices are sent to residents in the neighborhood where the registered sex offender resides. In July 2010, Lavergne bought a piece of property in Bayou Ridge Subdivision, off U.S. 190 in rural St. Landry Parish. The purchase included a mobile home that sits on the corner of Leslie Road and Elaine Lane, according to the St. Landry Parish Clerk of Court’s office. Neighbors said Saturday they don’t really know Lavergne. They didn’t see him much, which may be partly because he worked offshore. Shirleen Thomas, who is a foster mother, can see the red shed in Lavergne’s back yard from her carport. She remembers receiving a card in the mail announcing that her neighbor was a registered sex offender. “I showed the girls” his picture and threw the card away, she said Saturday. “I try not to judge people.” Her quiet neighborhood became the focus of a great deal of attention last week. On Thursday morning Thomas said she saw a black Tahoe parked at the edge of her road, which seemed odd. When she returned home later,police were all over the place, focusing on the Elaine Lane property. A neighbor told her the owner, Brandon Scott Lavergne, had been arrested in connection with the high-profile disappearance of Mickey Shunick of Lafayette. “It just shook me up. I wouldn’t have ever thought,” she said. “This is a quiet neighborhood. Nobody bothers nobody.” By Saturday morning, the yellow police tape and law enforcement vehicles were gone from around Lavergne’s property. Two pieces of skirting were missing from around the mobile home, reportedly removed by police. A couple of red sports cars sat behind the mobile home, apparently unused for some time. Neighbors mowed their lawns, stopping to chat and compare stories. The curious rode past, while Thomas’ dogs cooled off under the carport, eating a bone. Thomas said she’s not scared, but she thinks there’s another registered sex offender nearby. She seems to recall receiving his card and photo in the mail, too. Still she’s not one to judge. “Just ‘cause one person might have did something don’t mean the other one will,” she said, pausing before adding. “I’m still shocked.” www.dailyworld.com/article/20120708/NEWS01/120707001/Suspect-Shunick-case-has-troubled-past- |
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Post by meme on Jul 9, 2012 10:53:30 GMT -5
Mother of Brandon Scott Lavergne issues The mother of Brandon Scott Lavergne, the man charged with murdering UL-Lafayette student Mickey Shunick has released a statement regarding her son's arrest. The statement reads: "I would like to offer my condolences to the Shunick family. I would also like to have closure. I know I'm sorry is never enough however, it is all I have to offer at this moment. I am learning about this case as everyone else is, one newscast at a time, one Facebook post at a time, and one phone call at a time." Lavergne is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and failure to register as a sex offender. m.wafb.com/autojuice?targetUrl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wafb.com%2fstory%2f18973211%2fmother-of-brandon-la |
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Post by meme on Jul 9, 2012 17:36:05 GMT -5
Mickey Shunick's father talks about Lavergne's arrest The father of the missing UL student thinks more than one person is responsible for his daughter's disappearance. He says that person could be the missing link in the case. An obviously shaken Tom Shunick is trying to process the chain of events that led to the arrest of Brandon Lavergne; the man police say is responsible for his daughter's disappearance. "I knew they had a suspect they thought was involved in this thing a week before the arrest was made," said Tom Shunick, Mickey Shunick's father. Police believe Lavergne was driving the white truck following Mickey on her bicycle on May 19, 2012. It was captured on surveillance video outside the Lafayette Consolidated Government Building, the night Mickey went missing. Detectives said when fishermen found Mickey's bike at Whiskey Bay seven days later, the back tire was damaged. Mr. Shunick says he thought he had figured out what happened to his daughter. "You can look at all the scenarios that could have happened. And this is one of them; a probable one. Somebody may have been out there, bumped her, grabbed her," said Tom Shunick. That was just the beginning of the story. Tom later learned Lavergne was a convicted sex offender, a man who had been through the system as he put it. Just three days after the surveillance photos were released, authorities in San Jacinto County, Texas confirmed they found Lavergne's truck abandoned and burned. While investigators say they don't expect to make any more arrests in the case, Tom is convinced someone helped Lavergne. "It was burned somewhere in Texas. Somehow he got there and got back. Did he ride with someone?Did he walk back?How did he get back?" said Tom. Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft would not comment on similar questions at Friday's news conference. Tom says he has told detectives to keep any new developments in the case to themselves. He says he just wants to know when his daughter is found. Tom believes that authorities will find his daughter. "Maybe not alive, but they will find her." As for what Tom has learned about his daughter's alleged kidnapper so far, he says he is not quite sure how, if convicted, Lavergne should be punished. WAFB's Cheryl Mercedes sat down with the private investigator who was hired by a friend of the Shunick family. Hear from him tonight on 9News at 6. m.wafb.com/autojuice?targetUrl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wafb.com%2fstory%2f18984354%2fmickey-shunicks-father-talks-about-lavergnes-arrest |
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Post by meme on Jul 10, 2012 16:00:42 GMT -5
Shunick searches continue after arrest 2:50 AM, Jul 10, 2012 Efforts to bring Mickey Shunick home are continuing within Louisiana and outside the state's borders even after Thursday's arrest of Brandon Scott Lavergne in the case of the missing college student, a Lafayette investigator said. Police are conducting both out-of-state and local searches for Shunick, said private investigator John Abdella, who has been working with police on the case since its beginning. Lafayette police took Lavergne, an offshore worker from Swords, La., into custody on aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder charges after state police arrested him Thursday on an unrelated charge near the intersection of Interstates 49 and 10. Police believe Lavergne's white Chevrolet Z71 pickup is the one captured on surveillance video the morning Shunick disappeared. They have not revealed other evidence used to charge Lavergne. Shunick disappeared May 19, just two days before her 22nd birthday. Abdella has received dozens of new tips since police announced Lavergne's arrest Friday afternoon at a news conference. "Some of them had an idea of where Mickey may be, and there were different areas they wanted us to search," Abdella said. "Right now, what's going on, we're conducting different searches in different parishes and even out of state." Cpl. Paul Mouton, spokesman with the Lafayette Police Department, said he is not aware of any out-of-state searches but did say the task force is searching for Shunick in areas that Lavergne "used or had knowledge of." Mouton also said Monday that investigators had searched Lavergne's home and the surrounding area, using dogs to cover much of the vacant territory near the property. Although both Abdella and LPD are receiving tips from people reporting suspicious activity on their rural property, they are getting even more tips from those who knew Lavergne best. According to a St. Landry Parish court official, records there show Lavergne was married from September 1999 to October 2000. "I'm getting tips of people that knew Lavergne or they know members of his family or they worked with him at one time," Abdella said. "Now that his name has been released, we're receiving a lot more tips more specific to his whereabouts before and after the incident, information on and about him. Tips are coming in that are very encouraging as far as locating Mickey," Mouton said. The volunteer headquarters in the South College Shopping Center remain open, but volunteers are now only needed to post fliers and not perform searches. Volunteer coordinators were not available Monday for comment. Police said they think Shunick was kidnapped between St. Mary and St. Landry streets and Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette. That is near the site where surveillance video picked up images of Shunick and the white pickup truck around 2 a.m. May 19. Friday, Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said the damage to Shunick's bicycle —found May 27 in the waters of Whiskey Bay, about 30 miles east of where Shunick was last seen —was consistent with it being hit by a vehicle. He added police have not yet received a report on the bike from the Louisiana State Police crime lab. Craft also said Friday the department is not expecting any more arrests in the case. Abdella said he still does not rule out the possibility that Lavergne was not working alone, something he made known earlier in the investigation. "Sometimes, I wake up in the morning, and I think there's more than one person involved," Abdella said. Although Craft said he does not think Lavergne knew Shunick, Abdella said he wonders whether Lavergne had seen Shunick riding her bicycle around Lafayette prior to May 19. Either way, Abdella said the arrest has left him feeling "totally uncomfortable." "We don't want to think that people from here are capable of doing something like that," Abdella said. www.theadvertiser.com/article/20120710/NEWS01/207100304/Shunick-searches-continue-after-arrest?odyssey=nav|head |
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Post by meme on Jul 12, 2012 0:07:36 GMT -5
Eyewitness? Camera footage? What links Lavergne to site where Shunick's bicycle found WHISKEY BAY – St. Martin Parish residents continue to speculate about how investigators were allegedly able to place accused murder Brandon Laverngne in and around the location where Mickey Shunick’s bicycle was found here. No comment from Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft. An eyewitness? Perhaps. But there are traffic cameras at the Whiskey Bay exit where Shunick’s bicycle was found. And security videos have been prominent in the investigation leading to the arrest last week of the 33-year-old offshore worker with a checkered past. Since her disappearance on May 19, investigators with surrounding city and parish law enforcement have worked tirelessly, in concert with the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service, to locate Shunick and to piece together a crime scene with, at first, little more than surveillance video taken by a camera installed on a city government building. The video showed Shunick riding her bicycle in the wee morning hours and captured images of vehicles traveling in Shunick’s vicinity at roughly the same time. According to Craft, a turning point came on June 14, when a “concerned citizen” reported, on the TIPS line, critical information leading investigators to link Lavergne with the only vehicle appearing in the video which had not been cleared – a white Chevrolet Z71 pickup truck registered in his name. Investigators discovered that this vehicle had been reported stolen in Montgomery County, Texas. Within days after photographs of the suspect vehicle had been released, investigators located the burned-out vehicle in San Jacinto County, Texas. Based on information and surveillance, detectives said they were able to positively identify the truck that traveled directly behind Mickey in the video as belonging to Lavergne. Craft said investigators were also able to place Lavergne in and around the Whiskey Bay Bridge where Mickey’s bicycle was found on May 26. He said damage to the rear wheel of the bike was consistent with having been struck by a vehicle. According to a spokesperson from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, cameras mounted high in the median at the Whiskey Bay exit are part of a statewide network of traffic cameras monitored in real time by DOTD employees to spot traffic jams on the long stretches of elevated roadway common in this state. Go to www.trafficland.com and click through the “Live Traffic” prompts to see for yourself. They are not designed for security or surveillance, she said. They provide a snapshot every 10 seconds. And she said the images are not archived so that investigators could go back and scan them. Only in the unlikely event that one of the traffic monitors happened to notice and remember a white Z71 exit at Whiskey Bay – in the distant background of the camera’s view –could such a traffic camera provide damning evidence in the case. The other possibility besides an eyewitness is that the cameras have a functionality beyond that available to the public, or that there are other cameras in the vicinity. Lavergne, a resident of St. Landry Parish, was arrested in Lafayette Parish by the Louisiana State Police on Thursday, July 5, for failing to register as a sex offender. He was soon charged, by the Lafayette Police Department, with aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder. Craft said Lavergne has requested an attorney to represent him and that he has refused to cooperate with the investigation. Craft said he believes that Lavergne acted alone and he expects no further arrests in connection with this case. The I-10 traffic surveillance – which includes cameras at Ramah, Butte La Rose, Henderson, Breaux Bridge, I-49, and Ambassador Caffery –is part of a network that includes cameras on the Bonnet Carré Spillway with more to come in the New Orleans area. According to DOTD, the surveillance network was prompted by the gas well blowout in November 2007 that was less than 300 feet from the west-bound lanes of I-10 near Ramah shut down interstate traffic across the Basin for 10 days. www.zacharytoday.com/view/full_story/19268929/article-Eyewitness--Camera-footage--What-links-Lavergne-to-site-where-Shunick-s-bicycle-found-?instance=secondary_news_left_column |
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Post by meme on Jul 14, 2012 22:44:20 GMT -5
New developments in Shunick case July 13, 2012 The man arrested in the disappearance of Mickey Shunick drove himself to a Jefferson Parish hospital for treatment of stab wounds on the same day the University of Louisiana at Lafayette student vanished, an official said Thursday. That news came onthe same day other officials made a fruitless search for Shunickat three sitesnear the home of Brandon Scott Lavergne inSt. Landry Parish. Lavergne was booked last week in Lafayette Parish on countsof first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping in the disappearance of Shunick,who was last seen before 2 a.m. on May 19 leaving a friend’s house inLafayette. On Thursday evening, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Lavergne had filed a report May 19 alleging he was the victim of an aggravated assault. Deputies took the report at Oschner Hospitalon Jefferson Highway, said Col. John Fortunato, commander of the public information office. KATC–TV reported Thursday that the incident report states Lavergne showed up at Oschner Hospital just after 11 p.m. on May 19. Lavergne, who had been stabbed in the chest,back, neck and hand, said he was attacked outside a gas station at 3 p.m. that day,the TV station reported. Lavergne also claimed his wallet was stolen,KATC reported. The deputy writing the report indicated that the more he questioned Lavergne about the attack,the less information he began to provide, KATC reported. Medical staff told deputies that Lavergne was allowed to leave the hospital because hisinjuries were not life-threatening, according to KATC. He told deputies he drove himself to the hospitaland he had been in the area visiting a friend, indicating he would be returning home when he left the hospital, the TV station reported. “The task force,to my knowledge,is aware of the incident,”Cpl. Paul Mouton, spokesman for Lafayette police said Thursday. Moutonsaid he could not provide more details. Earlier Thursday, investigators responded to a rural area inSt. Landry Parish near Lavergne’s home after a farmer had reported a possible grave site on the edge of woods near his fields off U.S. 190 between Opelousas and Eunice. St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said his office received a tip from the farmer Wednesday night. During a Thursday morning search of the fields, investigators found two other sites that appeared to be possible graves, Guidroz said, adding that each mound was about 6 feet long and 3 feet wide. A four-hour search of all three sites concluded about 10 a.m. and turned up nothing, Guidroz said Thursday morning. “We are back to the drawing board,” he said. Lafayette police have said Lavergne was initially developed as a suspect after investigators received a tip June 14 connecting him to a white Chevrolet Z71 truckseen on surveillance video traveling in the same direction as Shunick near downtownLafayette. Lavergne’struck was reported stolen in Texas and later found burned on May 31, a few days after police released a video image of the vehicle,police have said. Investigators also have information linking Lavergne to the area under the Interstate 10 Whiskey Bay Bridge where Shunick’s bicycle was found May 26, Police Chief Jim Craft said at a news conference last week. A grand jury is set to meet Wednesday to consider first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping charges against Lavergne,a 33-year-old offshore worker. Lavergne isa registered sex offender who served eight years on an aggravated oral sexual battery conviction for typing up, blind folding and then sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman in Evangeline Parish in1999. He wasreleased from prison in2008. theadvocate.com/news/3334883-123/new-developments-in-shunick-case |
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Post by meme on Jul 14, 2012 22:53:31 GMT -5
Posted: Friday, 13 July 2012 3:33PM Accused Shunick killer was treated for injuries There's more information coming out in the case of the still missing, and presumed dead, Micky Shunick. Evidence suggests Shunick may have fought with her accused murderer. Lafayette Police Department Cpl. Paul Mouton says the man accused of murdering Shunick, Brandon Scott Lavergne, sought treatment at a hospital for wounds just hours after the ULL co-ed disappeared. "He was getting treated for injuries in Jefferson Parish," Mouton said. The corporal had little to add, however. "We're just not ready to go into details about that incident," Mounton explained. Mouton says the search for Shunick's body is on-going. "We continue to check properties... as we learn more about Levergne and those areas he frequented." www.wwl.com/Accused-Shunick-killer-was-treated-for-injuries/13716394 |
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Post by meme on Jul 14, 2012 22:54:56 GMT -5
Fundraisers Continue for Mickey Counter Culture and Party Time Party Supplies are both in middle of fundraisers to help in the search for Mickey Shunick. Counter Culture started their fundraiser Friday afternoon and will run until Sunday night. 20% of their proceeds will go straight to the Mickey fund. Volunteers from the Mickey search center are on hand all weekend taking donations. "I don't know if anybody could feel what her parents are feeling today. We've gone over it and talked about it a lot and if it happened to our daughters, we would do everything we could do in our power to bring her home," Counter Culture co-owner Dan Ford said. Party Time Party Supplies is involved in the "Adopt a Corner" campaign. If you go to the search center, you can pick an intersection that doesn't have fliers or lawn signs on it. The party store will then sell you lawn signs at a deeply discounted rate, and 100% of the money brought in for the signs will go to the search fund. Their main goal is to make sure Mickey's name stays out there. "All we're hoping is to get this out. To get all of Lafayette to know what we're doing. We want her face everywhere, Opelousas, Carencro, Abbeville, New Iberia. We want her face covering this state," Party Time Party Supplies Blair Whitaker said. www.katc.com/mobile/news/fundraisers-continue-for-mickey/ |
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Post by meme on Jul 14, 2012 22:55:21 GMT -5
Additional information added to time surrounding Mickey Shunick's disappearance Updated timeline in Mickey Shunick's disappearance (information from Lafayette Police, unless otherwise stated) May 18, 2012, 10:15 p.m. : Mickey and friends attended a concert at Artmosphere. May 19, 2012, 12:44 a.m. : Mickey rides bike back to Ryan Street residence with a friend. May 19, 2012, 1:24 a.m.: Mickey seen in surveillance video at Taco Bell. May 19, 2012, 1:31 a.m.: Mickey receives a call from her friend; it was the last time her phone was used. May 19, 2012, 1:45 a.m.: Mickey begins to ride her bike home from the Ryan Street residence. May 19, 2012, 1:47 a.m. : Mickey is caught on camera, riding her bike, on Versailles Boulevard. May 19, 2012, 1:48 a.m.: Mickey is caught on camera, riding her bike, on St. Landry Street. Police say between St. Landry and Blackham Coliseum, Lavergne allegedly kidnapped Mickey. Her bike's damage is consistent with being hit from behind by a vehicle. May 19, 2012, approximately 3:00 pm: According to a police report from Jefferson Parish, Lavergne says he was attacked at a gas station in the New Orleans area, repeatedly stabbed by an unknown man. May 19, 2012, 6:30 p.m.: Mickey's family reports her missing to police. May 19, 2012, 11:00 p.m.: Lavergne is interviewed by Jefferson Parish deputies in connection with an aggravated battery/robbery against him earlier that afternoon. The interview happens at a hospital in New Orleans as Lavergne is being treated, according to a police report. Lavergne can't recall where it happened. May 20, 2012 : The first search party is organized. May 25, 2012: The video surveillance photos were released to the public. May 26, 2012: Mickey's bike was located under the Whiskey Bay Bridge. May 31, 2012: Lafayette Police say Lavergne's truck was found burned in San Jacinto County, TX. May 31, 2012: Montgomery County Sheriff's Department says Lavergne reports his truck missing. June 4, 2012: Don's Wholesale in Lafayette Parish says Lavergne bought a white, Z-71 pick up truck. Police say the truck is just like his previous truck, found burned in Texas. June 14, 2012: Lafayette Police get the tip the white truck of interest was found burned in Texas. Lafayette Police say it's Lavergne's truck. July 5, 2012: State Police stop Lavergne on a traffic stop in a new white truck and arrest him on a warrant related to registering as a sex offender. He's also booked on first degree murder and kidnapping charges. Police say he is not cooperating. July 18, 2012: Lavergne is scheduled to appear before a grand jury in Lafayette Parish. www.katc.com/mobile/news/additional-information-added-to-timeline-surrounding-mickey-shunick-s-disappearance/ |
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Post by meme on Jul 14, 2012 23:06:39 GMT -5
Shunick case has residents anxious about safety 12:39 AM, Jul 14, 2012 The arrest of a St. Landry Parish man on aggravated kidnapping and murder charges in the disappearance of Mickey Shunick is casting a pall over a town that normally enjoys a feeling of safety and security, unlike many cities its size. Lafayette has always enjoyed a reputation as a safe place to raise a family, and many aren't ready to say that has changed. But the feeling among some residents is that there is a new awareness regarding safety issues. "I've always felt safe here," said Christene Zagone, a mother of three. "I could have moved to Baton Rouge or anywhere, but we chose to live in Lafayette. I think that people who live here want to be here." Zagone's youngest daughter just turned 18 and is at the age when most young people like to go out and do things with minimal parental supervision. Recent developments have Zagone worrying more about things that didn't necessarily cross her mind. "My first thought was that she (Mickey Shunick) shouldn't be riding a bike at 2 a.m.," Zagone said. "But I also understand that college kids don't think much about that because that's what they do. That's how they get around. Mostly, I'd rather my girls just stay where they are and don't try to get home that late at night. I am more nervous, and I think it's made my daughter more aware of what can happen." Zagone says she now asks her 18-year-old to check in regularly via text messages when she arrives somewhere, when she leaves and when she gets home. She also stresses that staying out till the "wee hours" as she puts it, is not something she encourages and something her daughter rarely does. Tony Bonomolo of the Bike Lafayette organization has a somewhat different view. As someone who uses his bike regularly as transportation, he says he knows plenty of people who travel that way and won't necessarily change their habits over safety concerns. Bonomolo says he doesn't feel less safe on a bike and says for many, biking is just a way of life. "For me and most of my friends, we don't feel less safe," Bonomolo said. "Not much changed. But one of the big things I've told people is, 'Just because you don't feel safe doesn't mean it's not safe (to ride a bike).' There are others for whom this is a normal pace of life because they would rather get around on their bike." The arrest of a St. Landry Parish man on aggravated kidnapping and murder charges in the disappearance of Mickey Shunick is casting a pall over a town that normally enjoys a feeling of safety and security, unlike many cities its size. Lafayette has always enjoyed a reputation as a safe place to raise a family, and many aren't ready to say that has changed. But the feeling among some residents is that there is a new awareness regarding safety issues. "I've always felt safe here," said Christene Zagone, a mother of three. "I could have moved to Baton Rouge or anywhere, but we chose to live in Lafayette. I think that people who live here want to be here." Zagone's youngest daughter just turned 18 and is at the age when most young people like to go out and do things with minimal parental supervision. Recent developments have Zagone worrying more about things that didn't necessarily cross her mind. "My first thought was that she (Mickey Shunick) shouldn't be riding a bike at 2 a.m.," Zagone said. "But I also understand that college kids don't think much about that because that's what they do. That's how they get around. Mostly, I'd rather my girls just stay where they are and don't try to get home that late at night. I am more nervous, and I think it's made my daughter more aware of what can happen." Zagone says she now asks her 18-year-old to check in regularly via text messages when she arrives somewhere, when she leaves and when she gets home. She also stresses that staying out till the "wee hours" as she puts it, is not something she encourages and something her daughter rarely does. Tony Bonomolo of the Bike Lafayette organization has a somewhat different view. As someone who uses his bike regularly as transportation, he says he knows plenty of people who travel that way and won't necessarily change their habits over safety concerns. Bonomolo says he doesn't feel less safe on a bike and says for many, biking is just a way of life. "For me and most of my friends, we don't feel less safe," Bonomolo said. "Not much changed. But one of the big things I've told people is, 'Just because you don't feel safe doesn't mean it's not safe (to ride a bike).' There are others for whom this is a normal pace of life because they would rather get around on their bike." www.theadvertiser.com/article/20120714/NEWS01/207140309/Shunick-case-has-residents-anxious-about-safety?odyssey=nav|head |
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Post by meme on Jul 15, 2012 10:42:43 GMT -5
JP deputy's incident report could be part of Shunick probe Updated: Jul 13, 2012 7:29 PM EDT snip- FOX 8 News has obtained an incident report from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Department, written by a deputy who interviewed Lavergne after he showed up with stab wounds at Ochsner Hospital on Jefferson Highway, hours after Shunick went missing in Lafayette. "The victim was known to have carried a sharp object along with some pepper spray," said Tulane criminologist Wade Schindler. Shunick's body has not been found, so her family is holding out hope that she is stillalive. "There's still hope until that body is found we are not giving up, a little ray of hope left, I mean it doesn't look good," said her father, Tom Shunick. According to the narrative in the JPSO incident report, when the deputy talked to Lavergne around 11:00 p.m. at the hospital, Lavergne said he did not remember anything about the location where he was stabbed, including nearby street names, building shapes, or landmarks. He said he was in town visiting a friend. The officer wrote that the more he questioned Lavergne about his being attacked, the less Lavergne provided. "I found it suspect, but victims of stabbings become disoriented and they really can't tell you where they've been especially if they're in an area that they don't know about," Dr. Schindler said. Read more at the link- www.fox8live.com/story/19023050/jp-deputys-incident-report-could-be-part-of-missing-students-probe |
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Post by meme on Jul 15, 2012 10:43:15 GMT -5
Missing: Michaela “Mickey” Shunick, 22 Yrs., Lafayette, LA, 05/19/12 Posted on 14. Jul, 2012 by smckinney. 07/14/12 — Texas EquuSearch has returned to Lafatette, LA to assist Lafayetted Police Department in locating Mickey Shunick. We will be using Texas EquuSearch members ONLY. No civilian volunteers will be allowed to search with us on this search. texasequusearch.org/ |
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Post by earl on Jul 16, 2012 4:03:47 GMT -5
Thanks for all the updates in this case meme. Is unfortunate there are so many cities where it is not safe to ride your bike at 1:00am.
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Post by meme on Jul 16, 2012 16:46:07 GMT -5
Thanks for all the updates in this case meme. Is unfortunate there are so many cities where it is not safe to ride your bike at 1:00am. Yw, Earl, we live in a very unsafe world, I hope that Mickey is found soon.  |
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Post by meme on Jul 16, 2012 19:28:32 GMT -5
Equusearch Back in Acadiana Equusearch is again searching for Mickey Shunick. Lafayette Police asked the search and recovery team Equusearch to come back two days after Brandon Lavergne's kidnapping and murder arrest. Equusearch was here for about a week soon after Mickey's disappearance in May. They left after exhausting all leads. About a dozen Equusearch team members were searching today in St. Martin Parish, but still no sign of Mickey. "Unfortunately we haven't been to the right place so we're here until it's over with or we've done everything can," said Executive Director Tim Miller. Last time they were here, they allowed volunteers to help, but this time, only experienced people are allowed on searches. They've gone through extensive training with Equusearch and know how to search for evidence. "They're very seasoned in searching and I feel this is a lot better with experienced searchers than with volunteers," said Miller. Miller says the team is focusing on St. Landry, Lafayette, and Acadia parishes. He won't say why their focus is in these three parishes, but aren't ruling out other areas, like Whiskey Bay where the team searched thoroughly during its last visit. "I'm not going to say we're done there but there are some priority areas first and we're going through the elimination process now," he added. The team is using ATVs to search through wooded areas. Over the weekend, they used a small ultra-light plane. Miller says finding Mickey is crucial. "The family needs closure they need to be able to say goodbye. They need a place to go and put flowers and visit," said Miller. Equusearch has searched for more than 1,200 missing people. So far, they've found and returned 300 safely.They've also found 136 bodies. www.katc.com/mobile/news/equusearch-back-in-acadiana-searching-for-mickey-shunick/ |
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Post by meme on Jul 16, 2012 19:30:46 GMT -5
Lafayette panel will weigh kidnapping, murder charges Wednesday 10:36 AM, Jul 16, 2012 LAFAYETTE -- A grand jury will consider evidence Wednesday to determine if capital charges of aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder are warranted against a 33-year-old convicted sex offender who, police say, killed a 21-year-old Lafayette woman in May. The grand jury will decide if there is probable cause to indict Brandon Scott Lavergne, of Swords in St. Landry Parish, in the May 19 disappearance of Michaela "Mickey" Shunick, a student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. "A prompt presentation to the grand jury was expected," Clay Lejeune, one of Lavergne's defense attorneys, said last week. Lavergne was arrested Thursday, July 5, after a traffic stop by Louisiana State Police at Interstates 10 and 49. Surveillance video from around 1:45 a.m. May 19 shows Shunick riding her black Schwinn bicycle on St. Landry Street heading toward St. Mary Boulevard. She had left a friend's residence and was presumed to be riding home. The video then shows a white pickup truck shortly after Shunick is seen. Police say the Chevy Z-71 pickup belongs to Lavergne and that he was driving. Police also say they have placed Lavergne at the location where Shunick's bicycle was found May 26, partially submerged under Whiskey Bay Bridge along Interstate 10 abotu 25 miles east of where Shunick was seen on the video. The bike had damage to the rear wheel consistent with having been hit by a vehicle, Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft has said. The case is set to go before a grand jury at 3 p.m. Wednesday 18 in 15th Judicial District Court in Lafayette, according to District Attorney Mike Harson. Grand jury hearings are closed to the public. The jury can take one of three actions: issue a true bill, concluding there is probable cause to charge Lavergne; issue a no-true bill, deciding there is not probable cause to charge him; or delay the decision. Grand jury findings usually are announced the same day as the hearing. "I would expect something on the afternoon of the 18th," Lejeune said last week. www.thetowntalk.com/article/20120716/NEWS01/120716003/Lafayette-panel-will-weigh-kidnapping-murder-charges-Wednesday |
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Post by meme on Jul 16, 2012 23:01:45 GMT -5
Lavergne’s lacerated finger, poison ivy treated at Opelousas General Monday, July 16, 2012 Sources with knowledge of the investigation involving Brandon Scott Lavergne, the 33-year-old convicted sex offender who faces a grand jury Wednesday, tell The Independent he was also treated for his May 19 injuries at Opelousas General; among the most serious was a lacerated finger requiring surgery. Lavergne was arrested July 5 for the aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder of 21-year-old UL Lafayette student Mickey Shunick. Shunick was last seen in the early morning hours of May 19 riding her bicycle in the downtown Lafayette area. A City Hall security camera captured Shunick on her bike at 1:48 a.m. May 19 on St. Landry Street near University Avenue, about the same time a white Chevrolet Z71 was caught on tape at the intersection traveling in the same direction. Lafayette police say that truck was driven by Lavergne, whom they contend later set fire to it in San Jacinto County, Texas, within days of the images being released to the public. Sources say the fire burned so hot that the entire truck was consumed in flames, destroying most —if not all —potential evidence in the case. Police have not said whether they were able to collect any evidence from the truck. Our sources would not confirm information we received that Lavergne rented a car for his return trip home after telling his insurance company that his truck had been stolen. What is known is that once he returned home, Lavergne purchased another white Chevrolet Z71 from Don's Wholesale in Lafayette to replace the one destroyed by arson. The Independent reported last week that on the same day Shunick went missing, Lavergne was treated at Ochsner Hospital in the New Orleans area. He had been stabbed several times in the chest, back, neck and hand with a “knife/cutting instrument,” according to a report on the incident by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. Lavergne told the deputy who interviewed him at the hospital that he was attacked outside of a gas station when he stopped to ask for directions but would not, or could not, provide any details about where the supposed incident occurred. On Sunday The Independent learned and later confirmed with sources close to the investigation that Lavergne also went to the emergency room of Opelousas General, which is nearer his home in the Swords area of St. Landry Parish. Our sources say doctors at the hospital performed surgery on his finger, and note that at the time Lavergne also was suffering from an extensive breakout of poison ivy. It’s unclear if he went to the Opelousas hospital immediately after returning from New Orleans and whether he was treated on a single visit. It is worth noting that, depending on a person's sensitivity, poison ivy breakouts can begin to appear within a few hours of contact with the plant. While police believe Shunick is not alive, they have not said how they think Lavergne killed her, all of which means they will seek to get an indictment Wednesday without a body. Citing privacy laws, an Opelousas General official would neither confirm nor deny that Lavergne sought treatment there for his injuries. www.theind.com/news/10949-lavergnes-lacerated-finger-poison-ivy-treated-at-opelousas-general |
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Post by meme on Jul 17, 2012 20:55:59 GMT -5
Extensive search continues for missing Mickey Shunick 10:18 AM, Jul. 17, 2012 LAFAYETTE - Past the crawfish ponds, farms and woods of rural south Louisiana, two members of Texas Equusearch rode four-wheelers along opposite shoulders of a desolate highway Monday, craning their necks to see into the damp ditches. They sliced through thick brush and spider webs with machetes. Upon reaching each crossroad and driveway, the men hopped off of their four-wheelers and peered into dark culverts, looking for evidence. The two men —one of whom wore a blue Find Mickey Now bracelet —were among 20 people from Texas Equusearch who returned to Acadiana last week to assist local authorities with the search for Mickey Shunick. The college student disappeared from Lafayette on May 19, just two days before her 22nd birthday. According to Tim Miller, director of the Houston-based nonprofit organization that searches for missing people, Lafayette police contacted Equusearch after arresting Brandon Scott Lavergne on July 5 on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping in Shunick's disappearance. Lavergne is linked to a white pickup seen on video surveillance photos released May 25. The white Z71 pickup was following Shunick, who was riding her bike near downtown Lafayette around 2 a.m. May 19. Less than a week after the images were released, Lavergne reported his pickup stolen in Montgomery County, Texas. The burned truck was recovered May 31 in San Jacinto County, Texas. On May 26, police recovered Shunick's bike partially submerged near the Whiskey Bay exit off Interstate 10, between Lafayette and New Orleans. The rear wheel was damaged in a manner consistent with having been struck by a vehicle. Police said they have evidence placing Lavergne at the Whiskey Bay location during the time Shunick's bike may have been dumped there. Miller said the team has been searching in three Acadiana parishes —St. Landry, Acadia and Lafayette —since early Tuesday morning. "I'm tired and wore out and beat up and abused," Miller said. "I'd like to find her today and go home." When Equusearch first arrived in Lafayette just days after Shunick's disappearance, the organization asked for local volunteers to search alongside the professionals. This time around, Equusearch and police only want trained professionals involved in the search to reduce the risk of compromising important evidence. So far, however, no evidence has been retrieved. "We have not located anything that has anything to do with this case," Miller said. "We eliminated a lot, a lot of areas, but we've still got many to eliminate. But we're with detectives every day looking at the maps and planning what we're going to." Neither Lt. Megan Vizena, spokeswoman for the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office, nor Cpl. Paul Mouton, spokesman for the Lafayette Police Department, have reported any new information in the Shunick case. Although LPD did not brief SLPO on its findings while searching Lavergne's home near Church Point, Vizena feels certain police recovered evidence. "At this point, there's no way to tell where any of the evidence is going to come up," said Vizena. "We're confident that Lafayette Crime Scene has some evidence from his home. You can tell just by how long they were out there." SLPO is continuing to follow up on leads, some of which involve searching residents' properties. Vizena is not sure, however, that authorities will find anything near Lavergne's home or even in the parish. "It doesn't look like we're going to find anything close," Vizena said. LPD is working alongside Equusearch to search all properties that Lavergne has been affiliated with, Mouton said. If no evidence is found on those properties, search efforts may move outside of Acadiana. John Abdella, a local private investigator hired by the Shunick family, says that he receives tips from as far as California and New York and is working with LPD to follow up on them. Tips from New Orleanians have poured in since news broke about Lavergne seeking medical treatment for stab wounds in New Orleans, only 13 hours after Shunick's disappearance. "They know the area," Abdella said. "They're telling me about a district that never was repaired after Katrina, and they'll say that they find bodies there." Lavergne, a 33-year-old offshore worker and convicted sex offender, will go before a grand jury Wednesday that will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to bring him to trial. Police have released little information about the evidence against Lavergne. Although the community cannot go out on searches with Equusearch, Miller did ask for support and prayers. Miller does not want to leave the area without returning Shunick to her loved ones. "We just need the community's support and prayers," Miller said. "I've been where Mickey's family is right now, and I know this for a fact: There's one thing worse than having a murdered child. It's having them out there deceased. We need the family to be able to say goodbye to their loved one." www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20120717/NEWS03/120717022/Extensive-search-continues-missing-Mickey-Shunick?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE |
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Post by meme on Jul 17, 2012 20:56:49 GMT -5
Hearing set for July 27 for suspect in Shunick case July 17,2012 LAFAYETTE — Brandon Scott Lavergne willappear before a 15th Judicial District judge July 27 at 9 a.m. for a preliminary examination and bond reductionin connection with his arrest in the May 19 disappearance of Michaela “Mickey” Shunickof Lafayette. Judge Herman C. Clause signed the order Tuesday afternoon. Lavergne,33, of the Lawtell area inSt. Landry Parish, isbeing held without bail at the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center on counts of first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping inthe University of Louisiana at Lafayette student’s disappearance. Lavergne’sattorney, Burleigh G. Doga, initially filed the motion Monday afternoonat the Lafayette Parish Courthouse. Prosecutor Keith Stutes filed an answer to the motionTuesday, arguing that a grand jury will take up Lavernge’s case on Wednesday, which will essentially serve the same purpose as a preliminary examination. “Either proceeding provides an inquiry into the legality of defendant’sdetention and thereby servesthe primary objection of the law,” Stutes wrote,citing existing case law. The state’smotionsays the state is not required to present the same case in different forumsat the same time and a delay in the preliminary examination untilthe grand jury hasacted would not be prejudicialto the defendant. Stutesalso noted that District Judge Marilyn Castle hasalready determined probable cause to support Lavergne’s arrest since she signed off onthe issuance of his arrest warrants. “A delay in the setting of a preliminary examination and reduction of bond is not prejudicial, but rather would be inthe proper discretionof the court,”Stutes wrote. District Attorney Mike Harson said in an emailMonday that a preliminary examination or the request for one generally is vacated uponthe issuing of a grand jury indictment,“since the indictment generally satisfies the questionof probable cause.” OnTuesday,Harson wrote inanemail that Lavergne willnot be invited to the grand jury proceeding. “It’snot unusual, particularly in a first degree murder charge, that the suspect willnot be invited to the grand jury and he does not have a right to attend,” Harson wrote. The 15th Judicial District Public Defender Office hasdeclined to comment on the case. “We appreciate the public interest inthis case and share the concernsof others that in this particular case justice is best served in the court of law, not in the court of public opinion. That is the policy of the Public Defender Office,” District Defender PaulMarx wrote in a memo last week. Marx said the Public Defender Office and assigned counsel will not comment on evidence, factsor pleadings filed inthese types of cases “in the interest of justice.” BillGoode,a criminaldefense attorney not associated with the case, said a request for a preliminary examination is essentially a way for the defense to put a “full court press onthe DA’s office to put up or shut up. “If you have a case, indict, otherwise we’re going to have a preliminary hearing to find out what evidence you have,” Goode said. An indictment could also help the District Attorney’s Office should Lavergne come up before a judge seeking a bond reduction, Goode said. “Without the indictment it putsthe defense in a better position to argue that the bond should be reduced because there is no indictment,” Goode said. Shunick, an animallover and avid cyclist, was last seen shortly before 2 a.m. leaving a friend’s home on RyanStreet near downtownon a blackSchwinnbicycle on her way to her parent’sGovernor Miro home about five miles away. Authorities arrested Lavergne July 5. Lafayette police have said Lavergne was initially developed as a suspect after investigators received a tip June 14 connecting him to a white Chevrolet Z71 truckseen on surveillance video traveling in the same direction as Shunick near downtownLafayette. Lavergne’struckwasreported stolen in Texas and later found burned onMay 31, a few days after police released a video image of the vehicle,police have said. Investigatorsalso have information linking Lavergne to the area under the Interstate 10 Whiskey Bay Bridge where Shunick’s bicycle was found May 26, Police Chief Jim Craft hassaid. Last week, a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office report said Lavergne checked himself into a hospital there for treatment of stab wounds hoursafter Shunick’s disappearance. Lavergne told a deputy that he had beenrobbed and attacked with a knife while at anunknowngas stationin an unknownlocation inthe parish, the report said. Lavergne isa registered sexoffender who was released from prison in2008 after he served eight yearson an aggravated oral sexualbattery conviction for tying up, blindfolding and thensexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman inEvangeline Parish in1999. In a related development, Texas Equusearch, a nonprofit mounted search-and-rescue team, hasreturned to Louisiana to assist Lafayette police as they continue to search for Shunick,said Margaret Bearb, coordinator for the volunteer search headquarters. Bearb said Texas Equusearch returned to the area last week. The Associated Press quoted Tim Miller, director of the Houston-based group, as saying that Equusearch and police only want trained professionals involved in the search, not localvolunteers,to reduce the risk of compromising important evidence. So far, however,no evidence has been retrieved, Miller said. Police spokesmanCpl. PaulMouton did not respond to anemailor a phone callto hiscellphone late Monday evening. For the latest onthe volunteer front,visit the group’sFacebook page at Find Mickey ShunickNow. theadvocate.com/news/3363995-123/shunicksuspectseekinghearing |
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Post by meme on Jul 18, 2012 10:11:50 GMT -5
UPDATE: Lavergne seeks bond reduction, hearing 10:07 AM, Jul 17, 2012 Attorneys for Brandon Scott Lavergne, 33, of Swords, are seeking a hearing to have his bond reduced and for police to show they had probable cause for arresting him in connection with the disappearance of UL student Michaela "Mickey" Shunick. Burleigh Doga, a Crowley attorney appointed to defend Lavergne, filed the court documents Monday aftenoon. Lavergne was arrested July 5 and charged with first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping in connection with the May 19 disappearance of Shunick, who was last seen on surveillance video riding her bike between Downtown Lafayette and Blackham Coliseum in the Saint Streets area. A white pickup truck that police say they've identified as belonging to Lavergne and driven by Lavergne was seen in the video just after Shunick. Doga is seeking a preliminary examination "to determine probable cause for his arrest" on the charges and to seek a reduction of his bond. Bond was set at $250,000 on the aggravated kidnapping charge. No bond was set on the first-degree murder charge. Lavergne is being held in the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center. Police have not recovered Shunick. Keith Stutes, assistant district attorney for the 15th Judicial District in Lafayette, is scheduled to present the state's evidence to a grand jury Wednesday. District Attorney Mike Harson told The Daily Advertiser this morning that Doga's motions filed Monday will have no affect on the grand jury hearing. www.theadvertiser.com/article/20120717/NEWS01/120717015/-liNoHeading- |
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Post by meme on Jul 18, 2012 10:12:26 GMT -5
Posted: Wednesday, 18 July 2012 7:14AM Grand Jury hears Shunick case The district attorney's office in Lafayette Parish goes before a grand jury today with the case of a missing college student, Mickey Shunick. Police have arrested a man for murder, but there are some very big unanswered questions. Cops booked Brandon Lavergne for 2nd degree murder, but have not found a body. Legal analyst Tim Meche says the D.A.'s office will have to make the case that she's dead. "The prosecutor will need to have some evidence; whether it be forensic evidence, physical evidence, or something to demonstrate that a death actually occurred." Cops have declined to discuss specific evidence. Meche says the fact that they have gone to a grand jury so soon after making an arrest, indicates authorities are confident. "It probably means that they think they have a pretty good case," he explained. Lavergne was treated in a Jefferson Parish hospital hours after Shunick disappeared. He claimed he was wounded during an armed robbery, but investigators suggest Shunick may have fought back when he attacked her. www.wwl.com/pages/13750052.php?contentType=4&contentId=11065189 |
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Post by meme on Jul 18, 2012 19:18:04 GMT -5
Posted: Wednesday, 18 July 2012 6:09PM Report: Shunick suspect indicted on murder charges WWL.com / AP Reporting A Grand Jury has indicted the man wanted in connection with the disappearance of Mickey Shunick on two charges of first-degree murder. In addition to the murder indictment in Shunick's case, Brandon Scott Lavergne has been indicted on a separate charge of first-degree murder in the death of Lisa Pate, according to WWL's Jeff Palermo. Pate's body was found in July of 1999 under a Lafayette-area home. Lavergne has been held in the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center since his arrest earlier this month. Shunick, a student at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, vanished May 19, just days before her 22nd birthday. She was last seen riding away from a friend's house on her bicycle. Lavergne has been held in the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center since his arrest earlier this month. Shunick, a student at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, vanished May 19, just days before her 22nd birthday. She was last seen riding away from a friend's house on her bicycle. Investigators say the white pickup truck linked to her disappearance is registered to Lavergne. They say that they can place Lavergne in and around the location where her bike was later found. www.wwl.com/Report--Shunick-suspect-indicted-on-murder-charge/13755931 |
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Post by meme on Jul 18, 2012 21:42:52 GMT -5
Officials investigating body found in East Texas woods A body has been discovered in a wooded area in East Texas. The Cass County Sheriff's Office and Atlanta Police Department are currently investigating the scene. The exact location of the body has not been released, but officials did say it's in a wooded area north of Atlanta. No other details were immediately available. m.kltv.com/ms/p/a3/117/view.m?id=124279&storyId=19059013&news=Top%20Stories&news2=Main |
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Post by meme on Jul 18, 2012 23:36:06 GMT -5
Lavergne linked to other crimes against women? Tuesday, July 17, 2012 The Independent has learned that law enforcement officials in jurisdictions outside of Lafayette Parish are exploring possible links between Brandon Scott Lavergne and unsolved crimes against women. Lavergne, 33, was arrested July 5 on charges of aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder in the case of missing 21-year-old UL Lafayette student Mickey Shunick. A grand jury hears the case Wednesday. When Lafayette police arrested Lavergne, they searched his home in the Swords area of rural St. Landry Parish. Among items taken was an undisclosed number of women’s IDs, according to sources with information of the ongoing investigation. “We have been contacted by other agencies regarding the arrest and have shared information,” Lafayette Police Department spokesman Paul Mouton writes in an email response to The Independent’s questions about Lavergne's potential involvement in other crimes. “I cannot confirm the agencies that have contacted us in this investigation.” On Monday The Independent broke a story about Lavergne being treated for a lacerated finger and a severe case of poison ivy at Opelousas General after his initial treatment at Ochsner's Hospital at 1516 Jefferson Hwy. in the New Orleans area. Lafayette police have not commented on whether they believe there was a struggle between Shunick and Lavergne. The search for her continues, with Texas-based Equusearch returning to the Acadiana area last week to assist law enforcement. www.theind.com/news/10964-lavergne-linked-to-other-crimes-against-women |
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