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Metairie man murdered in car sale gone wrong, sheriff says

JPSO deputies tracked the vehicle to Baton Rouge, where they found and chased down suspects near LSU's campus and opened fire Monday morning.

METAIRIE, La. — A man reported missing over the weekend was found dead in a lot on Monday following what the Jefferson Parish sheriff described as a vehicle sale gone wrong.

Two suspects, Herman Raney and La'Shon Brown, were arrested in the case after deputies tracked the man's vehicle to an apartment complex in Baton Rouge. 

The arrests involved a chase near LSU's campus in which a Jefferson Parish detective fired several shots at one of the suspects, but did not strike him, officials said. 

According to Sheriff Joe Lopinto, on Sunday evening, a Metairie man's wife reported him missing after he went to the 5800 block of Airline Drive to sell his vehicle, but did not return or answer her calls afterwards. 

The JPSO opened an investigation and by Monday morning had located the man's vehicle at an apartment complex in the 4400 block of Alvin Dark Avenue in Baton Rouge, near Tigerland. Deputies suspected foul play, Lopinto said. 

Working with officers from the Attorney General's office, JPSO detectives started a stakeout until a suspect, not the missing victim, went out to the vehicle around 11:30 a.m. Police confronted the man, who then reportedly ran into a wooded area nearby. That's when police gave chase and a detective opened fire, Lopinto said. 

The suspect was caught following the chase, and police found and detained a second suspect in an apartment nearby shortly after. Police did not clarify which suspect was Raney and which was Brown.

About an hour later, the JPSO recovered the body of the missing man in a field near the intersection of Lake and Linden streets in Metairie, less than a mile from the meeting spot to sell the man's vehicle. His identity was withheld while police notified his family. 

Raney, 22, and Brown, 20, will be charged with first-degree murder and simple kidnapping, according to JPSO. They are currently in East Baton Rouge Parish Prison waiting on transfer to Jefferson Parish.

The Baton Rouge Police Department opened an investigation into the detective's use of a weapon during the chase and was working with the JPSO as its homicide investigation continued. 

JPSO officials asked anyone with information that could assist in their investigation call the homicide unit at 504-364-5300 or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.  

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