2 men shot, 1 dies

BY JEFF MOORE
THE DAILY IBERIAN
Published/Last Modified on Monday, May 19, 2008 2:08 PM CDT

A New Iberia teenager was arrested Sunday after investigators said he shot two men who gave him a ride, killing one of them.

Jawaan Chevalier, 17, was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder.

He was booked into the Iberia Parish Jail without bond.

Iberia Parish Coroner Dr. James Falterman Sr. said Chevalier was riding with Kenneth Lewis, 43, of Jeanerette, and Grant Reno, 42, of New Iberia, early Sunday morning when both men were shot.

Falterman said Lewis was shot in the head. Reno was grazed by a bullet and suffered minor injuries, Falterman said. He was treated at Iberia Medical Center and released Sunday morning.

According to a press release from the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office, the shooting occurred at 4:30 a.m. in the 1100 block of Spencer Loop in the western side of the city.

Deputies responded to the area after Reno went to a nearby residence saying he and his friend had been shot.

Deputies found Lewis’ truck parked in the middle of Spencer Loop. Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene.

The press release said detectives identified Chevalier as a suspect through their investigation. He was taken into custody just after 7 a.m.

The press release said the motive for the shooting is under investigation.

The shooting is the fourth homicide of the year in New Iberia and the third in the past 20 days.

The city of New Iberia had no homicides in 2007.

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Comments

tiger wrote on Jun 2, 2008 7:11 PM:

" I agree w/TT that it begins w/parents. However, some children won't do right despite their upbringing. I know young males whose parents worked the same jobs for 20-30 years, never got arrested, etc that still turn to drugs/crime b/c in their eyes the parents' work didn't turn into fancy cars, houses, etc. We are a society of largess and wants, morality has taken a backseat. These days it is hard to combat the outside influences...peers, television, music, etc. "

brno wrote on Jun 2, 2008 3:48 PM:

" Kenneth Lewis is my best friends dad and he still to this day can not sleep knowing is pop's is gone. I cant believe you people bring race into this discussion. This has nothing to do with race. From what I understand the kid that did this was just bad, he wasn't running with a gang, he was just bad, got greedy and decided to rob these guys and he killed them. Thank goodness the police caught him this kid should not be on the streets, give him what he took aways from my friend's dad.....LIFE!!! "

Gray area wrote on Jun 2, 2008 12:22 AM:

" 17 years of age is criminally an adult but civilly still a minor. "

Glad to be gone wrote on May 31, 2008 5:16 PM:

" I moved away from New Iberia almost 15 years ago. I used to wish i could have raised my son in my hometown. I had a wonderful childhood there growing up. Spending my summers at the library on main street they had such great activities.

Now i look at what has happened to New Iberia and am glad that we left. The people who still live there need to take a stand, get involved and get the town i used to long for back. "

as a parent wrote on May 30, 2008 3:08 PM:

" To add to all this, 17 is a grey area, not yet a legal adult but if they want to leave home patents can't stop them and the parents still remain responsible for what they do even living out of their home. I too agree that teaching them when their young is right, we also have our kids with many other influences in their young lives such as in the schools. So I chose to homeschool mine. "

Cents wrote on May 29, 2008 1:35 PM:

" TT is absolutely right! If you don't teach your kids the basics of right and wrong when they're very, VERY young they'll grow up not knowing any boundaries. Or worse, learn about rules and order from the street, music, movies, etc. If parents don't discipline their own kids, they have no reason to wonder why they constantly misbehave or turn into criminals. Kids are just looking for attention...even if it's negative. And waiting till they're teenagers only compounds the problem. It's very difficult to un-learn bad behavior. "

someone who losted a really good person in their life wrote on May 29, 2008 1:17 PM:

" continued everyone keep referring to this murderer as a kid oh no he's no kid not at 17 in a 17 year old's eyes he's legal and dats all they see..but the facts remained that if the Long family should seek life or the death penalty his wife in kids should seek it too...wheather her was 15 old or 14 years old he is still a MURDERER some 11, 12 in 13 year old kids dat really made mistake got sentenced a an adult why should this be different "

Mel wrote on May 28, 2008 1:57 PM:

" Wow TT! That was strong enough to bring tears to my eyes. You are right,I wish most people that way. To bad they don't. That is why America is the way it is today. Thanks for being a great person! "

TT wrote on May 28, 2008 10:12 AM:

" Cont... Just like these young kids selling drugs..Do you think they learned this on their own..I don't think so! Either they watched one of the parents do it or their friends which in that case parents you are responsible as to who your children are hanging around in the first place. There is no excuse. Some parents use the excuse well I can't watch them 24/7 well my question to you is why not they are your children!! As a parent you are obligated to protect them and keep them safe with no and if's or buts.. "

TT wrote on May 28, 2008 10:06 AM:

" In response to Jess...Your wrong a 17 year old is still a minor and therefore is still the responsibility of his or her parents, besides it's all in how you raise your children if you want them to act like wild animals then basically you just give up on them and let them do what they want and that is exactly why these children and young adults do what they do...because they can..Most of these criminals know nothing but the streets and there is no one to blame but the parents. "

jess wrote on May 28, 2008 7:59 AM:

" how do some peopler get so off the topic? i personally don't think its the parent's fault. you can't tell a 17 year old what to do these days, they're mostly considered an adult @ this age to the state anyways. new iberia is also far from murder capitol. read papers in other cities in louisiana, they are far worse. the whole world is getting bad every day! people need to wake up. EVERYWHERE'S! "

Mel wrote on May 28, 2008 7:31 AM:

" It's the music that people are listening to these days. Filling thier hearts with hate. Put somthing good in thier hearts, and something good will come out.
Whites are killing whites, it's not racial. It's the heart!
Obama, Thats another story for another day. "

Just Wait wrote on May 26, 2008 11:25 PM:

" Is it Obama's fault these three young black men are accused of a terrible crime against a white man? I think not. But I have heard some disturbing things from the black community as of late concerning Obama should he win the presidential election. Perhaps someone can answer this for me. I have heard when Obama gets in it's going to be the black people's time and it's our turn to be on top. What does that mean? If I'm not mistaken a president is supposed to be color blind. Somebody needs to say Barack is colorblind. "

TT wrote on May 26, 2008 4:34 PM:

" In response to each their own.. Your right in a way. The parents should be responsible and with that being said the state should also be held acountable
because no one can discipline their children as they see fit because the state now calls it child abuse..So there you go that is one of the many resons why these children and young adults for that matter are so out of control. As I said before back in our day crime was no where near as bad as it is now..mainly because old fashion discipline never hurt anyone.
"

TT wrote on May 26, 2008 3:42 PM:

" In my personal opinion...Yes it's the parents job to raise their children right not to do these things...seems like old fasion butt whippings is what these children should of got but nooo everyone screams child abuse...child abuse my behind...there is a big diffrence of old fashion discipline and abuse.. that's how I was brought up and I guarantee you I have enough respect and sense not to hurt anyone..And I don't mean try to discipline when they are 15 because it's toooo late then. Parents time to go back to the old days!! "

A Praying Vessel wrote on May 26, 2008 3:31 PM:

" I also pray that God has mercy because there is so much hate among us...we say we love one another yet, our actions are totally different. In the book of Revelations Chapter 6, verses 3 - 4
"And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword." "

Praying vessel wrote on May 26, 2008 3:24 PM:

" When will we ALL wake up? We are all a people living in a day and age of the coming end....God is looking down at each one of us in our good and our bad whether we wish to admit it or not. He knows all about us all. I am praying for the community of New Iberia as well as ALL surrounding parishes. It does not matter where you live or where you're from, it's where your "true heart" is. The word of God tells us, where your treasure is, there is your heart. "

me wrote on May 26, 2008 2:56 PM:

" To Floored, do not be so naive and call this cold blooded murder anything but what it is a murder. An "ACCIDENT" my God you amake it sound like he backed out of his driveway and the gun accidentally went off. When people start seeing these crimes for what they are and quit coddling and blaming society and everything else, then maybe there can be an answer. This is not a sociatal issue, it is an individuals issue to make a choice to pull a trigger and take a life. "

MR CLEAN wrote on May 26, 2008 12:01 PM:

" I give people rides here-and-there and I will continue to do it. That's how good people live and I will not be scared. "

its not my fault wrote on May 26, 2008 11:52 AM:

" I do not understand the comment about exist polls from KY and WV. Simple because some whites did not vote for Obama they have to be racists. If blacks vote for him are they not then racists. This is what scares me about the election because it won't be about the issues. Anyone that does not vote for Obama or criticizes him will be labeled a racist.
It was 430 in the morning, should not children be home? "

Ashley wrote on May 24, 2008 10:09 AM:

" Just like in business, it starts from the top and works its way down. No the parents did not pull the trigger, but they set the standards. As a parent of a one time extremely angry teenager, I didn't always know what he was doing, but it is MY JOB to find out. We as parents need to pull back the reigns. We either want to be the cool parents or we are too wrapped up in our own drama to care. Every action has a consequence, it is up to us and follow through. "

Floored wrote on May 22, 2008 11:55 AM:

" I am just appalled by the ignorance regarding this accident. I feel that some residents are pushing the blame towards the wrong people and the wrong issues in our community. The residents should be focusing on the person that pulled the trigger and what type of environment he was brought up in; not the presidential candites or anybody in our past, present or future. "

J. Harry continued wrote on May 21, 2008 4:58 PM:

" This is very sad. I had something like this happen to someone very dear to me two years ago.

As a Black man, I can honestly admit that Blacks as a conglomerate have a lot of work to do.

However, in this presidental race, I am often confused by right wing ideology and racism against Blacks. As a results of seeing this 'ideology' on this message board and in the exit poll results from the KY and WV primaries, I can infer that racism is a driving force in much of the criticism of Barack Obama. "

To NI Citizen and Allen wrote on May 21, 2008 4:48 PM:

" in responding to your comments. Stop hating on Barack Obama. What if someone said something about you? and it was not true. Rumors have been around before your time. The media only shows you what they want you to see so you can have the sorted ideas in your heads. Both of you have never met Barack Obama, have you? So, Judge not. And futhermore it is the people in the world that is causing havoc. But most of all Read and understand the Bible and you will then understand what is going on. "

J. Harry wrote on May 21, 2008 4:33 PM:

" Allen,
First of all, I must say that I do agree with you that what 'NI Citizen' said on the message board has nothing at all to do with Barack Obama, the presidental candidate. Second of all, I disagree with you about censoring post on iberianet.com. Don't get me wrong, some of the comments are extremely racist; however, allowing these comments to be posted gives us all insight to the blatant ignorance and racism that people might be timid to express in public.
"

FAB wrote on May 21, 2008 4:00 PM:

" It is a same that this young man has lost his life as it is that this young boy has lost his also. We can only blame our society. We force our children to grow up to fast.They no longer can enjoy childhood. They are pushed into day schools soon after birth and spend most of their life with other people not family. So, what do we expect when this is the life they are given. WQe should all blame our self, we have let our children down. "

Allen from New Iberia wrote on May 21, 2008 1:31 PM:

" Yes, NI Citizen...I couldn't agree more, blame Barack Obama, blame Rev. Wright, blame the NAACP, blame Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., blame Malcolm X, blame Marcus Garvey, blame Nelson Mandela!!!! This kind of racist remark is constantly allowed on these iberianet.com posts and I think it's ridiculous that "undercover racists" from New Iberia choose this venue to air out there biased undertones...Vote for McCain, I bet the economy will regress even more...Which concerns you more, these violent teens in New Iberia "created by Barack Obama's Christian religious beliefs" or gas at $10/gallon???? Let's be serious with ourselves.. "

movin on out wrote on May 21, 2008 11:52 AM:

" House for sale. CHEAP! but where do I move to the whole country is going crazy
starting with the A.C.L.U. government
for backing down for theese poeple. "

not a saint either but trying wrote on May 21, 2008 11:45 AM:

" When a parent tells a kid what is right or wrong but every time they turn around and try to get away with little things like lieing to get more welfare or more insurance money from fake damage it is ok as long as it is for money. White or Black it is happening all over in every class of people.
our morals are all out of wack. We cant pray in school but we can shoot the heck out of every one in sight . It all starts with that little lie for more money or whatever it was. "

Kim C. Spiker wrote on May 20, 2008 4:46 PM:

" Sure kids want to grow up at age 12! But just any parent won't let them! You take control over your kids at age 12 so that at age 17 they will know better that what this kid did! Even by the age of 12 when they want to be grown up they know the difference between right and wrong. By the way, where did he get the gun? And what was he doing with 2 40 year old guys? Was he related? "

Just Wondering wrote on May 20, 2008 12:59 PM:

" Did the parents pulled the triger on that gun? NO! So many parents are blame for their kid's wrong doing, why? Because everyone has to blame someone. Well blame the person who actually did the wrong doing. He made that choice not his parents. He decided on his own to take another life, not his parents. It's all about making the right or wrong choices in life. His parent didn't say "go forth and commit crimes". Lay off the parents, I, as a parent refuse to take the blame for anything my children do as teenagers or young adults. "

NI Citizen wrote on May 20, 2008 12:51 PM:

" What is happening to our wonderful little city? It is so very sad, this disgrace for human life. Who is to blame? This world is turning more and more sick and it's because of a lack of God in our homes and in our lives. Take a look at our next future president, Barack Obama, the atheist, our world is really gonna start turning upsidedown then. It's so sad. "

just me LEE wrote on May 20, 2008 7:05 AM:

" Blame the parents is often heard but at age 17 this guy knew right from wrong.Kids want to grow up and be treated as an adult at 12. Its only when something goes wrong that lets blame the parents.The same parents who loved him,meet all his basic needs,taught him to believe in God and trusted him to be a good person.There are other people and circumstances involved here.Give the parents a break, they are enduring pain and suffering themselves over this. "

Who is next wrote on May 19, 2008 10:37 PM:

" Welcome to Iberia Parish...murder capital of Louisiana. We can start giving lessons to New Orleans. "

Another one wrote on May 19, 2008 9:12 PM:

" here we go again. "

Are the streets safe wrote on May 19, 2008 8:22 PM:

" I too am disgusted and appalled about what is happening in the city. I am not sure the streets are safe anymore. God gave every one of us free will. Parents can do much to sway this "free will". What the children (and these are children acting this way) does with it is up to them. Parents can only teach them right from wrong, they can't follow 2 steps behind every step of the way. I will agree that some parents need a little home training also. "

the dore family wrote on May 19, 2008 7:43 PM:

" my hubby worked with kenneth lewis at dynamic and he will be missed by lots of people rip my friend "

chiller wrote on May 19, 2008 7:13 PM:

" When will the black people wake-up and see what's really wrong, with what's going on in our communties!!! "

Family wrote on May 19, 2008 6:59 PM:

" A goodwill gesture gone wrong indeed - the life of a loving and hard-working man taken in a senseless act of cowardice and obvious disregard for human life. "

To each their own wrote on May 19, 2008 4:21 PM:

" Well look who is doing the killing and where. 17 years old and not a care in the world. The parents should be to blame. Teach your children right from wrong!!! "

Disgusted wrote on May 19, 2008 3:44 PM:

" How proud I am to live in New Iberia..Not! It's disgusting and uphauling. "

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2 men shot, 1 dies

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