The defendant accused in the shooting death of a 17-year-old boy from Terrytown was hiding in a nearby trash can when deputies arrived to investigate the homicide, authorities said.
Tyree O'Quinn, 18, escaped arrest on the night that Jordan Butler was killed. But he was taken into custody a day later and booked with second-degree murder in the case, according to Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office Detective Steven Mehrtens, who testified Tuesday during a hearing in Jefferson Parish Magistrate Court.
Jordan was fatally shot just after midnight on May 16 in the 900 block of East Monterey Court in Terrytown, authorities said.
A witness reported hearing a gunshot before spotting an armed man standing over a victim who was lying on the ground in the street, according to authorities. The man fired several gunshots into the victim before running from the scene, Mehrtens said.
Another witness identified O'Quinn as the suspect, according to authorities. O'Quinn lived in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred, court records said. Authorities also learned though witness interviews about O'Quinn's alleged hiding spot that night.
Investigators checked Jordan's social media and discovered that the teen had been communicating with O'Quinn shortly before the homicide.
"It indicated they planned on meeting at the location where the decedent was found," Mehrtens said.
Once in custody, O'Quinn confessed to the shooting, Mehrtens testified. O'Quinn told authorities that he and Jordan were meeting to exchange an item, though the detective did not say what type of item.
During the exchange, O'Quinn shot Jordan once and continued to fire after the teen fell to the ground, Mehrtens said. The detective's testimony did not include a suspected motive for Jordan's killing.
Jefferson Parish Criminal Commissioner Patricia Joyce ruled there was probable cause to continue holding O'Quinn on the murder charge.
During a secondary hearing on whether to reduce O'Quinn's $600,000 bail, Mehrtens testified that O'Quinn was arrested in January for cutting off an ankle monitor he'd been ordered to wear as part of a case involving a charge of illegal use of a weapon.
No other details were available about the case, though Mehrtens said that charge was still pending.
Joyce denied the motion for bond reduction. O'Quinn was being held Tuesday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna.