When a disagreement turned deadly in Kenner, authorities say they believe a close friend of the victim grabbed the murder weapon, chased after the alleged gunman and shot him.
Homicide suspect Tajh Terrell, 23, of Kenner, survived the attempted reprisal, suffering a gunshot wound to his arm, according to the Kenner Police Department. He was arrested April 9 and booked with second-degree murder in the killing of 21-year-old Trinity Castleberry.
Kenner Detective Peter Foltz on Friday testified about the details surrounding Castleberry's death during a hearing in Jefferson Parish Magistrate Court.
Witnesses told police that Terrell had scammed Castleberry out of an undisclosed amount of money, according to authorities. On the evening of April 8, Terrell went to Castleberry's residence in the 2600 block of Greenwood Drive in Kenner, authorities said.
Castleberry arrived home a few minutes later, walked over to Terrell and asked about his money, witnesses reported to police. At some point, Castleberry punched Terrell, Foltz said.
"After being struck, [Terrell] retaliated by shooting [Castleberry] directly, at which point, the victim fell to the ground," Foltz testified.
Castleberry was shot twice in the neck and later pronounced dead.
While fleeing, Terrell dropped the .40-caliber pistol used in the homicide, Foltz said. Investigators believe an unnamed family friend picked up the gun, got into a vehicle and followed Terrell.
The friend caught up with Terrell near the intersection of 27th and Decatur streets, about three blocks from Castleberry's house, according to authorities. A witness there told police a vehicle drove up, shot Terrell and then took off, Foltz said.
Terrell made his way another four blocks to a house in the 2600 block of Phoenix Street in Kenner where a resident called 911 to report that someone had been shot, Foltz said.
When officers arrived at the Phoenix Street home, they realized that Terrell's clothing matched the description of the gunman in Castleberry's shooting, according to Foltz.
Police recovered .40-caliber bulllet casings at both shooting scenes, though ballistic examinations had not been completed by Friday's hearing, Foltz said.
The gun also hasn't been recovered, Foltz said. No one has been arrested in Terrell's shooting, which is still under investigation, according to authorities.
Jefferson Parish Criminal Commissioner Paul Schneider ruled there was probable cause to continue holding Terrell on the murder charge. He also denied a motion to reduce the bail in the case.
On the same day that Terrell was arrested in Castleberry's murder he was also booked by Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office investigators on a warrant for bank fraud and theft, jail records said.
In the theft case, a 41-year-old man accused Terrell of scamming him at out of $250 by posing as the owner of a window tinting company on March 27, according to Sheriff's Office Sgt. Brandon Veal.
The victim thought he was electronically sending money to Terrell's company to have some windows at his business tinted. But as soon as the money was sent, Terrell blocked the victim's telephone number, never did any work and never contacted him again, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Terrell was being held Friday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna on $505,000 bail.