In the early hours of March 26, 2014, the life of 32-year-old Charles 'Chee' Meyers was tragically cut short in New Orleans. Meyers was discovered in the 11000 block of Haynes Boulevard in New Orleans East, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Another man, aged 24, was also found at the scene with a graze wound to his head. An autopsy would later reveal that Meyers had been shot eight times, with two of the wounds proving fatal, causing him to bleed to death.
The investigation into
the death of Charles Meyers led New Orleans police to identify 19-year-old Wade Reed as a suspect. With the assistance of 'citizen involvement,' authorities located and arrested Reed, charging him with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and aggravated burglary. Reed had a prior record of arrests for simple battery and simple assault.
Further investigation by the New Orleans Police Department's Violent Offenders Warrant Squad and the U.S. Marshals Task Force resulted in the arrest of a second suspect, 20-year-old Tavis Leonard. Leonard was subsequently charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder and was booked into the Orleans Parish Prison.
In the ensuing legal proceedings, Tavis Leonard was indicted for the second-degree murder of Charles Meyers, as well as other related charges. Following a two-day trial, a jury found Leonard guilty of the murder of Charles Meyers and armed robbery. For the murder conviction, Leonard was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. He also received a ninety-nine-year sentence for the armed robbery charge, to be served concurrently with his life sentence, with an additional five years for a firearm enhancement to be served consecutively. A co-defendant in the case pleaded guilty to manslaughter, armed robbery, and attempted murder and received a forty-year sentence. The Louisiana Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit, later heard an appeal in the case of Tavis Leonard in 2018.
