4 arrested in connection with St. Rose murder

Four men have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 11 shooting death of 18-year-old Michael McCray in St. Rose.

Janerio Dewey, 23, of 416 Mockingbird Lane in St. Rose, and Ramon Vinnett, 21, of 312 River Ridge Drive in Boutte, were arrested on Friday and are currently being held by the Sheriff’s Office.

Brothers Joshua Avery, 24, and Calvin Avery Jr., 19, both of 340 Mockingbird Lane in St. Rose, turned themselves in on Sunday morning.

All four men have been charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder.

A fifth man, Lawrence J. Washington, 21, of 604 E. Club Drive in St. Rose, was arrested on Jan. 17 and charged with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder and accessory after the fact to attempted first-degree murder.

Authorities say that Washington allegedly had information on McCray’s murder that he withheld from officers.

McCray died when he was shot four times as his car was sprayed with at least 17 bullets while parked in a driveway near his home. Leslie Reed, 19, was also in the car at the time, but was uninjured in the attack.

Reed had previously been held by the Sheriff’s Office for three months in connection with the May 2012 murder of Jared Mealey that took place only one block away from the scene of McCray’s death. Reed was released in October 2012 due to lack of evidence.

McCray’s uncle, Darrick McCray, said he saw the warrants being executed on the Avery brothers’ home.

"They looked like Navy Seals or something, they had all this gear on," McCray said. "Both streets in Preston Hollow were shut down for a while."

McCray said he was pleased to see progress in the hunt for those responsible for his nephew’s death.

"I feel good. Knowing that these people are being picked up sent chills through my body," McCray said. "This is a great start in cleaning up our community. I’m glad to see people are starting to talk about what is going on.