PONCHATOULA -- Tangipahoa Parish sheriff's deputies have arrested four Ponchatoula men and a 16-year-old in the murder of a man whose body was found a month ago in a small canal.

WWL-TV

The boy and three of the men allegedly killed 53-year-old handyman Clarence Nicholes on March 10 and dumped his body; the fourth is accused of obstructing justice, investigators said.

Lee Brown, 18, Charles Martin, 19, Ronnie Allen, 26, and the juvenile were booked Tuesday with one count each of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, armed robbery and carjacking. Brown, Martin, and Eddie Brown, 31, were booked with obstruction of justice, a news release from the sheriff's office said.

Deputies called to a disturbance at a house on Saturday overheard one of the men talking about Nicholes, and all five were questioned Monday and Tuesday, Assistant Police Chief Pat Ferris told The (Baton Rouge) Advocate.

He told the newspaper that all five allegedly confessed to the crimes during questioning.

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