Grand juries in Iberia and St. Martin parishes handed up multiple indictments this week, District Attorney Michael Haik reports.
In Iberia Parish Steven Vital, 29, was indicted on a charge of second-degree murder and felon in possession of a firearm in the slaying of Jermaine Riles. Riles, 49, was shot in the 100 block of Dark Alley the day after Christmas 2022. He died later at a hospital. Police called the shooting a "domestic-related homicide" but did not release details.
The grand jury also indicted a 16-year-old from New Iberia in the slaying of Rylon Daniels. Daniels was 14 years old; the shooting shut down the 2025 Spanish Festival. To read our interview with Daniels' family, click here. The 16-year-old is now formally charged with second-degree murder.
Also indicated was Marklin Reaux, 36, of New Iberia; he's accused of first-degree murder, theft of a motor vehicle and possession of drugs. He's accused in the April slaying of John Berard, an incident that triggered a multi-parish car chase. Police found Berard dead inside a Pollard Avenue home on a Saturday morning, and realized his car was missing. They put out a BOLO, and the car was spotted a few hours later by New Iberia Police. They tried to pull the car over, but the driver fled. The chase ended in Breaux Bridge, and Reaux was taken into custody. Police identified him as a relative of Berard's and described the slaying as a "domestic-related homicide."
The grand jury also indicted Reginald Peters, 26, on a charge of second-degree murder and two counts felon in possession of a firearm in the slaying of Denarius Joseph. Police found Joseph's body in the street back in March; he had been shot multiple times. Detectives with NIPD identified Peters as a suspect in the shooting during their investigation and obtained warrants for his arrest. He was spotted at a store a couple days later, and after a foot chase he was arrested. The grand jury indicted Anikkera Johnson, 32, of St. Martinville on a charge of principal to second-degree murder in this case.
The St. Martin Parish grand jury also handed up several murder indictments, Hail reports.
The grand jury indicted Malik Alexander, 19, of Breaux Bridge, on a charge of second-degree murder in the slaying of Andre Arceneaux, 19, who was shot to death in March.
Also indicted was Michael Zachary, 19, accused of second-degree murder and possession of an illegally transferred weapon in a March slaying in Cade. Three people were shot during the incident on Smede Highway, and Javeuin Williams, 20, of Breaux Bridge, died. Police were called to the location and found that there had been an argument and someone had fired a gun into a group of people, then fled the scene. Zachary crashed his vehicle near the scene and was transported to the hospital. When he was released, he was booked with possession of an illegally transferred weapon, and following an investigation a murder charge was added.
