Jamie Hymel awoke from a near-overdose on March 2 to the realization that her friend, Richard Keller Jr. of Destrehan, was no longer breathing as result of a heroin overdose. She called 911 in a desperate attempt to save him, but Keller was declared dead on the scene.
Nearly four months later, she has been charged with his murder.
Hymel and Roderick Hackett have each been charged with second-degree murder after St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives received a copy of the coroner’s report detailing the case of Keller, who died at the age of 38. The report listed the cause of death as multiple drug toxicities, heroin and fentanyl overdose and ethanol intoxication. Both Hymel and Hackett potentially face life in prison if convicted.
According to court documents, Hymel, 30, of Norco, acted as an informant to help detectives arrest Hackett, who allegedly sold Hymel and Keller the substance that killed Keller and nearly took Hymel’s life. Hackett was eventually convicted of attempted distribution of schedule I drugs in early June.
But after the coroner results were finalized, St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne ordered Hackett and Hymel re-booked on the charge of RS 14:30.1 relative to second degree murder, a section of the state’s criminal code that allows a law enforcement agency to levy the charge of murder after an overdose death.
A 56-page document filed with the 29th Judicial District Court provided details of the case.
Hymel told investigators that she and Keller were close friends who were each going through a “bad day,” leading to their decision to contact Hackett—nicknamed “Lucky” – who Hymel admitted she had purchased heroin from before.
Hackett, 40, requested a meeting in the parking lot of an old Domino’s store, where she reportedly purchased a half-gram of heroin for $75. She returned to Keller’s Commercial Lane Destrehan residence, where the two reportedly ingested the drug.
The next day, she woke up horrified to find Keller’s unresponsive body.
According to the report, when authorities arrived, they found Keller’s body sitting upright in a chair on the enclosed porch of his home, “cold to the touch.” He was pronounced dead on the scene.
Hymel was in need of medical assistance herself and was transported to St. Charles Parish Hospital — she had reportedly passed out several times after the authorities arrived. Later, Hymel was able to identify a picture of Hackett. Then, she was approached with a request to assist the investigation by setting up another deal with Hackett, which she agreed to.
She contacted Hackett via her cell phone and “bartered a deal” for one gram of heroin. He agreed to meet her at her Barreca Street residence in Norco. They continued to communicate until Hackett arrived that night, appearing “nervous” and frantic, looking over both shoulders according to the report. As he approached her front door, investigators announced their presence.
Hackett then turned around and placed his hand over his mouth “as if to place something there”—investigators believe that was his attempt to discard the heroin by swallowing it, as he later refused medical assistance—and then fled by foot.
After a brief foot chase, he tripped on loose gravel and was apprehended, but he refused to place his hands behind his back for arrest. Due to his resistance, deputies said Hackett was struck several times in his upper legs and arms as deputies tried to subdue him. He was then arrested.At the time, Hackett faced charges of distribution of heroin and possession of a controlled dangerous substance.
He went on to plead guilty to an amended charge of attempted heroin distribution on June 9 and was facing a year of prison time.
Champagne said last week that a precedent needs to be set so that when drug usage results in death, those involved will face consequences.
“We vigorously investigate incidents of drug overdoses and will hold those selling or administering these drugs accountable when death occurs,” Champagne said. “Anyone who either sells or participates in drug use needs to understand that the consequences extend much further than their illegal drug activity, they may also be charged with murder.
“Many believe that drug use is a nonviolent crime, (but) any activity that leads to so many deaths is anything but nonviolent.”
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