La. boy buried; suspects moved to different jail

MARKSVILLE, La. — The two suspects in the Nov. 3 shooting death of 6-year-old Jeremy David Mardis were moved to Alexandria on Monday afternoon because facilities there were better equipped to segregate the Marksville city Ward 2 marshals from the jail population.

Meanwhile, on a chilly, gray afternoon, Jeremy's friends and family gathered in Hattiesburg, Miss., for his funeral. Family members said Mardis and his father had recently moved to Avoyelles Parish in Louisiana about six months ago.

There, George Higgins, the Pineville attorney representing one of the marshals, Norris Greenhouse Jr., said a gag order has been placed on all attorneys, victims and possible witnesses in the case.

The gag order was signed by 12th Judicial District Judge William Bennett, who earlier in the day set bond for Greenhouse Jr. and Derrick Stafford at $1 million each on charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.

Greenhouse and Stafford were moved from an Avoyelles Parish jail to Rapides Detention Center #3, according to an Avoyelles Parish Sheriff's Office official who spoke to media outside of the office.

Two La. officers charged with murder of 6-year-old

Also on Monday, the attorney for Jeremy's father, Chris Few, told The Associated Press that video footage from the Nov. 3 shooting showed Few with his hands up before Marksville city Ward 2 deputy marshals fired at the vehicle he was driving. Few was seriously injured, hit at least once in the head. He was unable to attend his son's funeral.

Jeremy was seated in the front passenger's seat. He was hit multiple times in the head and chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

"This was not a threatening situation for the police," attorney Mark Jeansonne told the AP.

No gun was found in Few's vehicle, Col. Mike Edmonson, superintendent of the Louisiana State Police, said last week. It was rumored that the marshals were after Few to serve him with a warrant, but officials since have said that no warrant for Few's arrest has been found.

Jeansonne said Few is improving, but he still does not know about his son's death. He is listed in fair condition at Rapides Regional Medical Center in Alexandria.

When Bennett set bond for both, he also set conditions on those bonds — home incarceration with electronic monitoring to be approved by the court, the surrendering of all firearms, both service and personal, and the surrendering of all badges and police officer certifications "pending further orders of the court."

Stafford and Greenhouse were arrested late Friday night by Louisiana State Police, which has been investigating the shooting since about an hour after it happened at the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Taensas Street around 9:30 p.m. Nov. 3. Both were charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.

The bond hearing was closed to the public and press. Few's attorney told the AP that the video was described during the bond hearing.

Stafford reportedly will be hiring an attorney, but had a public defender appointed for him Monday.

Both men were working as Marksville city marshals, but also work for other law enforcement agencies. Stafford, a lieutenant with the Marksville Police Department, has worked for the department for eight years. He also works part-time for the Alexandria city marshal's office for about a year, The Town Talk was told Monday by Marshal Terrence Grines.

Greenhouse is a full-time Alexandria city deputy marshal. He now is on paid administrative leave after his arrest, Grines said.

Stafford is not being paid because he is a part-time employee. Grines said he usually worked between 15 to 20 hours per week.

The two were among four officers at the scene of the shooting. The other two, Lt. Jason Brouillette and Sgt. Kenneth Parnell, have not been charged in connection to the shooting.

The investigation is continuing.

The Avoyelles Parish District Attorney's Office on Monday filed a motion to recuse the office from the case, which 12th Judicial District Judge Kerry Spruill granted. Avoyelles District Attorney Charles Riddle III said the motion was being made because an assistant district attorney, Norris Greenhouse, is the father of Greenhouse Jr.

Spruill said he granted the motion "to promote impartial administration of justice."

Outside the courtroom, Riddle was asked how Greenhouse was handling the news about his son. He shrugged and said, "You can imagine." Riddle said Greenhouse handled major cases for the DA's office and that he was a good friend.

He also said that 72-hour bond hearings in Avoyelles Parish usually are handled via Skype, with defendants at the parish jail.

Still, some of those gathered outside the sheriff's office later Monday morning were skeptical that justice would be served. As they mingled among state and national media, some grumbled suspicions about how the case is being handled. Rumors that Greenhouse's truck was seen in the parking lot added to those suspicions.

At Jeremy's funeral in Hattiesburg, a white hearse waited outside Moore Funeral Home on Hardy Street, as groups of two or three mourners straggled in — the children dressed in brightly colored clothes in contrast to the more somberly attired adults.

The boy's service was scheduled to run about 20 minutes, but closer to 40 minutes passed before mourners began to disperse.

A small coffin was placed inside the hearse for the trip to the cemetery in Beaumont.  Family and friends went to waiting cars and joined behind as two police officers on motorcycles led the procession.

Few's stepfather, Morris German, said Jeremy had been diagnosed with autism. He described him as a delightful child who loved everything and everybody. Other survivors include Jeremy's mother, Katie Mardis of Hattiesburg; his sister, Alyssa Simmons of Hattiesburg; and his grandparents, Cathy Mardis of Hattiesburg and Terry Mardis of New Augusta.

A memorial service also is scheduled to be held in Marksville on Thursday at 6 p.m. near TJ's Lounge on Spring Bayou Road.

Contributing: Hattiesburg (Miss.) American, Richard Sharkey, The (Alexandria, La.) Town Talk. Follow Melissa Gregory on Twitter: @MGreg_TownTalk