HOUMA, La. — Two suspects have been charged in connection to the homicide of a 54-year-old Montegut man whose body was found in Morgan City, authorities said.
Montegut residents Terrance Dupre, 22, and Davonte Mathews, 21, are charged with the second-degree murder of Kirby Courtreaux Jr., the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office said.
Courtreaux was reported missing and had not been seen since Saturday, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office said.
Dupre was arrested Wednesday morning following a brief chase in Montegut, but the other suspect remains at large, authorities said.
As deputies were patrolling La. 665, they spotted Courteaux’s gray Toyota Tundra traveling on Island Road, the Terrebonne Sheriff’s Office said.
As deputies tried to initiate a traffic stop on the truck, the driver accelerated at a high rate of speed, authorities said. During the chase the driver drove the truck off the highway and into a wooded area in the 2300 block of La. 665, where he abandoned the vehicle.
Deputies, detectives and police dogs chased the suspect into the woods, where he was taken into custody, authorities said. The suspect, identified as Dupre, was then transported to the Terrebonne Sheriff’s Office for questioning.
Investigators learned Courteaux had been fatally shot at a boat launch on La. 665 in Pointe-aux-Chenes and his body had been taken to Morgan City, Terrebonne Chief Deputy Terry Daigre said.
Lafourche detectives found bullet casings and other evidence at the scene, authorities said.
“Through our investigation and questioning, the suspects admitted to the homicide and told us where the homicide actually occurred,” Daigre said. “We were able to verify that by finding evidence of a crime scene at the location in Lafourche. The suspect then hauled the dead body over to Morgan City and dumped him.”
Morgan City Police found Courteaux’s body at Levee Road and Veterans Boulevard, authorities said. An autopsy later showed the victim had suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
Detectives learned Mathews, Dupre and Courteaux were at the boat launch Saturday night when the shooting occurred. The two suspects then drove and abandoned Courteaux’s body near a wooded area.
Authorities said the motive for the shooting remains unknown and the investigation is in its early stages.
Dupre remains in custody with the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office but was hospitalized today for an unrelated illness before he was booked on the charges, authorities said.
Although detectives learned Dupre and Courteaux knew each other, Mathews’ relationship to the victim is not known, authorities said.
Courteaux, who was affectionately known as Bud, was a beloved member of the community, his cousin-in-law Titus Savoie Jr. said.
“Bud was the kindest person you could ever meet,” the Houma man said. “He was ‘that guy’ that loved people so much that he would help a total stranger if they asked him for help. I hope the evil people who committed this crime against our family member gets the full range of punishment the judge can sentence them with. No one, especially someone as nice as Bud, deserved to die like this.”
Upon release from the hospital, Dupre will be booked into the Lafourche Parish jail on a $1 million bail, authorities said.
Detectives are asking anyone with information on Mathews’ location to submit an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip at 1-800-743-7433 or www.crimestoppersbr.org. Tips can also be submitted with the P3 Tips mobile application.
Some tipsters may be eligible for a $1,000 cash reward if the information leads to an arrest.
--Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 448-7639 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanVCopp.
