A St. Rose man has been convicted of murder in connection with the May 29, 2012 slaying of 19-year-old Jared Mealey in the Preston Hollow neighborhood.
Leslie Reed, 22, faces a life sentence after he was convicted of second-degree murder.
Another St. Rose man, Keywine Bradford, pled guilty to manslaughter in connection with Mealey’s death last October. While Bradford gave a statement to police indicating that he was present during Mealey’s death, he claims that he was not the shooter.
Instead, Bradford said Reed fired the shots that killed Mealey.
On May 29, 2012, Bradford said he and Reed were driving down Turtle Creek Lane when they passed Mealey, who was standing in front of his house.
Reed glanced at Mealey and allegedly said, “I’m gonna whack him.”
Bradford told police that he went along with Reed’s plan to murder Mealey, and the two met later that evening in Preston Hollow. That’s when Reed showed Bradford a black, 9mm millennium edition handgun that he had tucked into his waistband, according to the Bradford’s statement.
While Reed and Bradford were standing outside, Mealey happened to pass by them in his car and the two began following him to the intersection of Mockingbird Lane and Normandy Street, according to Bradford.
Bradford added that Reed then handed him a gun, but the teen told police that he realized he wouldn’t be able to commit murder and declined to shoot Mealey. Instead, he said Reed took the gun back and asked him to flag Mealey down. Bradford waved at Mealey, who pulled his car over to talk.
While they were chatting, Bradford says he saw Reed creep up from behind Mealey’s car and walk to the driver’s side window.
Bradford began to back up.
According to Bradford, Reed fired at Mealey and kept firing into the vehicle. Bradford said that Mealey never saw the shots coming. The two then fled down Normandy back to Mockingbird Lane where Reed paused in the street, looked at Mealey’s vehicle and said, “Look at my work,” according to Bradford.
Bradford told police that he could see that Mealey’s vehicle had rolled into a nearby yard and that the headlights were shining down the roadway.
After that, Bradford said the two split up and went to their homes. Reed maintained his innocence, telling police that Bradford showed up at his home after Mealey’s murder and admitted to the shooting.
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