U.S. MARSHALS AND NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT EFFORTS LEAD TO ARREST OF ONE OF NEW ORLEANS METRO AREA’S MOST WANTED, LEROY MASSEY

On the afternoon of November 06, 2006, Deputy U.S. Marshals from the Middle District of Louisiana with assistance from the Eastern District of Louisiana U.S. Marshals’ Crescent Star Fugitive Task Force (CSFTF) and the Southern University Campus Police Department arrested Leroy MASSEY, 21 years old. MASSEY was wanted out of New Orleans and Jefferson Parish, Louisiana on warrants charging him with murder and attempted murders.

MASSEY was arrested without incident in the Satterwhite Hall dorm on the Southern University Campus. A small amount of marijuana was also recovered in the room. Both individuals that were found with MASSEY were turned over to the Southern University Campus Police.

The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) began an investigation to locate MASSEY and developed information on his whereabouts in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area. NOPD being a member agency of the CSFTF contacted the U.S. Marshals for assistance in his apprehension.

MASSEY had been the subject of a manhunt since September 16, 2006, when he is believed to have committed a murder and an attempted murder by shooting two victims that were seated in a vehicle. The male victim died at the scene and the female victim was taken to a hospital for treatment related to gunshot wounds. Nineteen shell casings from an assault rifle were found at the scene of the murder. MASSEY is also believed to have been involved in a shooting several weeks ago in Jefferson Parish, just prior to the New Orleans Police Officer being shot in the Lincoln Shire subdivision in Jefferson Parish. At the time of the NOPD officer’s shooting, law enforcement officers were looking for MASSEY as the suspect in the shooting that had just occurred.

The U.S. Attorney General has committed additional law enforcement resources to the New Orleans metro area to combat the increase in violent crime. Through the U.S. Department of Justice, the CSFTF has gained the support of additional out of district deputy U.S. Marshals and administrative support personnel to assist in combating the spike in crime.