KENNER, La. — A stuffed animal with a ‘rest in peace’ note sits by busted glass on the doorsteps outside a Farm Avenue home in Kenner.
“I could see everything going on, everything,” said neighbor Darnell White.
White watched it all through his window Sunday morning as Kenner and Jefferson Parish authorities surrounded the home.
“They asked him to come on out. They said surrender and come on out. He said y’all come get me,” said White.
Alone inside the home, now riddled with bullet holes, was Matthew Lathers, 31. Officers showed up to the house, owned by Lathers’ grandparents, after two men outside were shot by Lathers. The two men, a 62-year-old and a 44-year-old, were treated and released from the hospital.
“They just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Kenner police chief Keith Conley.
Not knowing who was inside the house at the time, the situation got more serious when officers realized it might be Lathers. Chief Conley says Lathers was already wanted for an April 23 attempted murder and armed robbery on Coleman Place in the same neighborhood, just one street over.
“A 56-year-old man was shot three times in the abdomen and robbed of a cell phone and a wallet,” said Chief Conley.
That man, who Chief Conley believes knew Lathers, is still in the hospital.
Trying to arrest Lathers led to a standoff. That’s when three unidentified Kenner officers were shot. One was shot in the arm, another in the leg, and the third in the side. Chief Conley called it an ambush.
“Within an hour we had over a hundred officers on scene,” said Chief Conley.
A sniper from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office eventually shot and killed Lathers.
“You feel for it when it’s any law enforcement officer, but it hits home,” said Chief Conley. “The relief was that due to their training, the equipment, and luck, they were treated and released from the hospital.”
Conley says Lathers had training from the Army but was dishonorably discharged because of drugs. Inside the home, Conley says Lathers was aware he was being sought.
“He had made little bunkers and alerts so he could tell when somebody was coming in,” said Chief Conley. “I’m not in the mental evaluation business but I can tell you, in my opinion, he knew right from wrong, and he knew was he was doing.”
Chief Conley said a rifle, two handguns, and ammunition were found with Lathers after he was killed. Chief Conley believes the rifle was used in the standoff and one of the handguns is the one used during the April 23rd shooting.
“This man shot six people in a matter of seven days and it was no end in sight, three of them being law enforcement,” said Chief Conley. “If you’re going to shoot a police officer, it’s scary to think what you consider citizens and residents.”
White says there were multiple rounds of gunfire and more shots than he could count.
“It happened three or four times,” said White. “Then the last thing, that’s when everything died down. That’s when they said the sniper had hit him.”
White, who has lived in the neighborhood his entire life, says what happened had a lot of folks shaken up.
“It put a lot of people at risk, but I can say this about the law enforcement, they made sure the people were safe.”
Chief Conley said Lathers was also convicted of a New Orleans armed robbery in 2012. He was sentenced to ten years and served most of that time.
As a joint investigation with multiple agencies, Chief Conley says body camera footage will be reviewed and expects some of the video will be released.
“I’m totally satisfied as we stand here today that we did everything that we could in the best way that we could,” said Chief Conley.