The 18-year-old shot and killed by a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office deputy in the parking lot of a Metairie apartment complex Tuesday afternoon was wanted in connection with a road rage shooting in New Orleans that left one man injured, authorities said.
The Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office and court records identified the man as Calvin Cains III, of Metairie.
A deputy shot Cains while he was behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle at The Lumiere apartments in the 3300 block of West Esplanade Avenue in Metairie, said Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto.
Road rage shooting
The New Orleans Police Department had warrants for Cain for aggravated second-degree battery and possession of stolen property in a Sunday afternoon shooting in the Tremé neighborhood, according to the department.
A 31-year-old man told New Orleans investigators he was driving in the 1200 block of North Claiborne Avenue (map) about 12:34 p.m. when his vehicle and another car almost collided, the NOPD said.
The man followed the other vehicle. A passenger in that car brandished a gun and shot at the man before driving off, according to authorities.
The man suffered at least one gunshot wound and was taken to a hospital. His condition was not immediately available.
Metairie confrontation
New Orleans police identified Cains as a suspect in the Tremé shooting and released a bulletin describing the vehicle linked to the incident, according to Lopinto.
Jefferson Parish investigators were familiar with Cains.
"He was a known suspect that we've dealt with many times before with drugs and guns on numerous occasions," Lopinto said.
Cains had been arrested by deputies in June 2022 and subsequently pleaded not guilty to identity theft, unauthorized use of a vehicle and illegal use of a firearm, according to Jefferson Parish court records.
In August 2022, Cains was arrested in New Orleans on a count of illegally carrying of a weapon with a controlled dangerous substance, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, illegal possession of stolen things and possession of tapentadol.
New Orleans police had found him near the Louisiana Department of Motor Vehicles office at Morrison Road and Bullard avenues with a firearm with an extended magazine in the compartment of a stolen car, according to court documents.
Cains bonded out in April on a $15,000 surety bond and was awaiting trial at the time of his death Tuesday.
A fatal standoff
When Cains was previously arrested by the Sheriff's Office, he lived at The Lumiere, court records said. Deputies went to the apartment complex Tuesday afternoon looking for the stolen gray, Toyota C-HR that had been linked to the Tremé shooting, according to authorities.
Deputies spotted the vehicle parked in the lot and contacted the department's Strategic Engagement Team, a plainclothes unit that can rapidly respond to developing situations, according to authorities. The team was preparing to set up surveillance on the car, but Cains walked out and got into the vehicle.
Team members pulled their vehicle in front of the stolen car to block it in, the Sheriff's Office said. Cains backed into a fence and turned his vehicle's wheels, preparing to move forward and escape. At the same time, a deputy walked toward his car, according to the department.
“My deputy ended up firing shots into the windshield against the suspect, killing him on scene," Lopinto said.
'Proper force'
The shooting is under investigation and few details have been released, but Lopinto indicated that he believes the deputy acted appropriately.
The suspect "attempted to escape from that standpoint and put one of our deputy’s lives in danger, and he utilized the proper force," Lopinto said at the scene Tuesday.
Two deputies were wearing body-worn cameras at the time of the confrontation, though the department has not said whether they will release any video of the incident.
Efforts to contact Cains' family on Wednesday were not immediately successful.
Cains is the third person fatally shot by a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office deputy this year. Kevin Veal, 26, of Harvey, was killed Feb. 25 after fighting with and shooting at deputies inside a Terrytown Brother's Food Mart in Terrytown, according to the department.
Deputies shot Joseph Riviere III, 50, in the driveway of his Metairie home on April 22 after the Sheriff's Office said he pointed a gun at officers.
