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Thread: Jacobby Lee Sentenced in the 2009 Execution-Style Slayings of Two Men

  1. #1
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    Jacobby Lee Sentenced in the 2009 Execution-Style Slayings of Two Men

    Death penalty sought for suspect in double killing

    HOUMA — Terrebonne Parish prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a 22-year-old man accused of shooting two men to death in July and, later that week, wounding a woman in the head.

    Jacobby Jackson Lee of Houma was indicted Friday morning on two counts each of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, and pleaded not guilty to the charges at a hearing that same morning.

    The manner of the two male victims’ shootings allowed for death penalty consideration, said First Assistant District Attorney Carlos Lazarus said.

    “Based on the method of the killing, it seemed like they may have been execution-style,” said Lazarus, calling Lee “a one-man crime spree.”

    Lee was arrested July 30 after officers found him hiding under a house in the 100 block of Columbus Street, according to Houma Police. Investigators said Lee visited a friend, Sean Collins, 19, at 1400 Dunn St., that evening and got into a dispute.

    The cause of the fight is unknown, police said.

    Lee fired a shot at his friend’s mother, Gail Collins, 53, as she watched television on her couch, striking her in the head, police said. He then fired at Sean Collins, who escaped unharmed through a rear window.

    He left the house in a Ford Explorer, police said, which was abandoned at Willow and Dunn streets. Police said they spotted him at Morgan and Main streets and then arrested him on Columbus.

    He possessed about a quarter-pound of marijuana during his arrest, police said. Investigators are unsure whether the marijuana was involved in the dispute.

    Gail Collins survived the gunshot to the head, police said.

    After his arrest, Lee was linked to a July 28 double murder that occurred less than a mile away on Clay Street, police said. Michael D. Hebert, 33, of Houma, and his cousin, Michael G. Herbert, 25, of Belle Rose, were found dead from one gunshot each in an apartment Hebert rented, they said.

    Investigators found a .40 caliber gun in the Ford Explorer Lee abandoned after the Dunn Street shooting, authorities said. Matching bullet casings from the gun were found at the scene of both shootings, they said.

    Lee, who is being held without bond at Terrebonne Parish jail, was charged with the double murder Aug. 20. Police also charged him in a car theft and purse snatching that occurred in July.

    Lee pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine in 2008 and received a two-year sentence, Lazarus said. He was released on parole in Nov. 13.

    The decision to seek the death penalty was done without the consultation of the victims’ relatives, Lazarus said.

    “They understand the ramifications of the death penalty,” he said. “They have not expressed opposition.”

    Lee’s trial is set for Jan. 11.

    The District Attorney’s Office last sought the death penalty in 2007 against Romalis Gordon Jr. He later pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder for shooting Brenda “Granny” Roberson, a 64-year-old unarmed security guard, and 29-year-old Schaeffer Francis, a night manager, at Lucky’s Truck Stop Casino on La. 182.

    He received two consecutive life sentences.

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  2. #2
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    DOUBLE HOMICIDE

    A tentative trial date of Jan. 10 has been set for Jacobby Lee, 22, of Houma, accused of killing two men in one shooting and, days later, gunning down a woman inside her Dunn Street home.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Lee, who was also charged in a car theft and purse snatching last year.

    Lee entered the Dunn Street home of Gail Collins, 53, the night of July 30 and argued with her teenage son, Sean, police said. Lee shot the woman in the head as she watched television, then fired at her son as he escaped through a window, police said.

    Officers allegedly found him hiding beneath a Columbus Street house that evening.

    Houma Police detectives later connected him to the slayings of Michael Hebert, 33, of Houma, and his cousin Michael Herbert, 25, of Belle Rose. Both were found dead July 28 inside a Clay Street apartment. Each had been shot once.

    In September, Lee was indicted on two counts each of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree murder.

    He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    His trial is set for Jan. 10, but Terrebonne Parish’s chief public defender, Tony Champagne, said he expects it to be rescheduled.

    http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20100103/articles/100109933

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    Accused killer rearrested

    A Houma man facing the death penalty was rearrested on first-degree murder charges Thursday after his grand jury indictment was dismissed on technical grounds.

    Jacobby Lee, 22, of Houma, accused of killing two men in one shooting and, days later, gunning down a woman inside her Dunn Street home.

    Terrebonne Parish Assistant District Attorney Carlos Lazarus said the indictment was dropped on the grounds that prosecutors failed to set forth aggravating circumstances that would support the death penalty if Lee is convicted.

    But Lazarus said the dismissal was technical, and the case will be back on track today. Prosecutors are still seeking the death penalty against Lee, who was also charged in a car theft and purse snatching last year.

    Lee entered the Dunn Street home of Gail Collins, 53, in July 2008 and shot the woman in the head as she watched television, then fired at her son as he escaped through a window, police said.

    Houma Police detectives later connected him to the slayings of Michael Hebert, 33, of Houma, and his cousin Michael Herbert, 25, of Belle Rose. Both were found dead July 28 inside a Clay Street apartment.

    In September, Lee was indicted on two counts each of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty.

    http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20100730/articles/100739978

  4. #4
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    Grand jury indicts Houma man in murder

    A grand jury has indicted a Houma man on first-degree murder charges in the 2009 shooting of a 53-year-old woman.

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    Jacobby Lee, 23, 2618 Daniel Turner Trailer Court No. 12, was arrested within two hours of the shooting of Gail Collins. Collins initially survived the shot to the head but died a few weeks ago in a nursing home, said Sgt. Dana Coleman of Houma Police.

    Lee had fired several shots with a handgun after an argument with Collins’ son. Her son escaped through a rear window when the shots were fired.

    Lee was indicted in September 2009 for attempted first-degree murder for the shooting. He was also indicted on double first-degree murder that year for the shooting of Michael D. Hebert, 33, of Houma, and Michael G. Herbert, 25, of Belle Rose.

    Houma Police officers found them dead the evening of July 28 in Michael D. Hebert’s Clay Street apartment. Hebert and Herbert were killed by gunshot wounds to the head.

    Grand jury members also indicted a Vinemont, Ala., man on a second-degree murder charge for the killing of a woman in Cocodrie more than 30 years ago.

    Ricky D. Brown, 54, was arrested in December and charged with the murder of Edith McElroy West. West, 22, also of Alabama, was found in a canal off Bayou Sale Road on Sept. 27, 1980, with a cinder block tied around her neck, police said.

    West’s cause of death was drowning, Terrebonne sheriff’s detective Dawn Foret said.

    Brown was questioned at the time, but there was insufficient evidence to link him to the crime, authorities said.

    Investigators reopened the case earlier this year. In questioning witnesses again, detectives said they got enough information to obtain an arrest warrant for Brown, police said.

    The grand jury also issued indictments this week in the following cases:

    - Lashawn Smith, 31, was indicted on a second-degree-murder charge. Smith allegedly killed his cousin, 27-year-old Quincy Smith, over drug money late last year, Terrebonne sheriff’s deputies said.

    Quincy Smith had been reported missing Dec. 31. His body was found a week later decomposing in a backyard in the Smithridge neighborhood in Chauvin.

    - Robert Mitchell, 31, was indicted on an aggravated-incest charge. Mitchell had sex with a mentally handicapped girl he is related to in late November, Terrebonne sheriff’s deputies said. He was arrested in December.

    - Brandon Chiasson, 18, was indicted on a charge of aggravated rape. Chiasson allegedly had sex with a 12-year-old girl, though the girl told Houma Police officers the sex was consensual.

    http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20...9443?p=2&tc=pg

  5. #5
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    Death-penalty case may be tried this year

    The trial of a Houma man facing death for allegedly killing three people in a matter of days may go forward this summer, prosecutors said.

    Jocobby Lee, 24, was arrested the same day he shot Gail Collins in the head as she watched television in her Dunn Street home in July 2009, police said. Later, Lee was tied to the deaths of cousins Michael D. Hebert, 33, of Houma, and Michael G. Herbert, 25, of Belle Rose, who were killed two days earlier, as well as the shooting of Collins' son Sean as he escaped out of a window.

    Collins initially survived the shooting but died in February 2011 at age 55. Later, Lee was indicted by Terrebonne grand juries on first-degree murder, robbery and weapons charges. He is being held without bond in the Terrebonne Parish jail, and also has pending cases on charges of purse-snatching, drugs and battery on a correctional officer.

    Terrebonne First Assistant District Attorney Carlos Lazarus has said the “execution-style” killing of the victims led to his decision to seek the death penalty from day one. In September 2009, shortly after Lee was indicted for the first time, Lazarus called Lee “a one-man crime spree.”

    Lee's July trial is scheduled in front of District Judge George Larke.

    Lazarus, who is prosecuting the case along with Assistant District Attorney Jason Lyons, said Wednesday his office is prepared to go forward with the case. However, as is standard for most death-penalty cases in Louisiana, defense attorneys have continuously filed motions in the case. If they are denied, they are then appealed to higher courts.

    “We're ready. That's the bottom line,” Lazarus said.

    Attorneys from the Baton Rouge Capital Conflict Office couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

    A trial where prosecutors are seeking the death penalty is separated into two phases. First, the jury hears evidence and decides whether to convict the accused. Following a conviction, the penalty phase commences, and the jury decides whether to impose the death penalty or life in prison.

    Lazarus said he expect's Lee's trial to last a few weeks, while the penalty phase will most likely take a few days.

    More motions for the case will be heard May 24.

    This is the sole remaining death-penalty case pending in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes. In February, prosecutors decided to amend 23-year-old William Henderson's charge to second-degree murder. Henderson, 25, is charged with smothering 10-month-old Kaleb Nelton, his girlfriend's son, when the baby would not stop crying.

    Chief of Trials Mark Rhodes said the family was consulted on the decision to reduce the charges. The change will help bring the case to a faster conclusion and “was in the best interest of justice.”

    http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20...ws01?p=2&tc=pg
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  6. #6
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    A Houma man will spend life in prison after pleading guilty today to shooting and killing three people in 2009.

    Jacobby Lee, 23, of 2618 Daniel Turner Trailer Court No. 12, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, each of which carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole, according to the Terrebonne Parish District Attorney's Office.

    He admitted to killing Gail Collins, 53, of Houma; Michael G. Herbert, 25, of Donaldsonville; and his cousin, Michael D. Herbert, 33, of Houma over three days in 2009.

    Terrebonne Parish First Assistant District Attorney Carlos Lazarus said Lee pleaded guilty in exchange for the life sentence rather than face a trial and potentially the death penalty that prosecutors had threatened to seek.

    “It doesn't bring me any closure,” said the younger Herbert's father, Michael Henry. “He took my son's life.”

    Henry said news that Lee will not face execution is a disappointment.

    “It's hard losing your son,” Henry said. “It's the hardest thing in the world. I think about him every day.”

    Prosecutors had previously said the murders' execution-style appearance was cause to seek the death penalty.

    An email and phone call to Lee's defense attorney, Bruce Dodd of Baton Rouge, wasn't returned this afternoon.

    Lee was arrested July 30, 2009, the same day he shot Gail Collins in the head as she watched television in her Dunn Street home and has been jailed since, police said. Collins initially survived the shooting but died in February 2011 at age 55


    Lee was visiting Collins' son Sean at the woman's Dunn Street home when an argument broke out. Prosecutors said the nature of the conflict isn't certain, but Lee shot Gail once in the head as she sat watching television. He then turned the gun on Sean Collins, who was able to escape the gunfire through a window.

    Lee fled in a Ford Explorer that he quickly abandoned and police found blocks from the scene. Less than two hours after the murder, police found Lee hiding under a house on Columbus Street.

    Two days earlier, the Herberts were found dead in an apartment Michael G. Herbert rented on Clay Street, less than a mile from Collins' house, police said. The cousins both died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
    http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20...9704?p=2&tc=pg

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