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Family defends man killed in robbery
Posted on January 18, 2003
Mandy Goodnight
VILLE PLATTE - Friday was eerily quiet here at K&T Grocery at 124 W. Lincoln Road.
The store, usually bustling with customers, was closed, and a handwritten sign informed people that the store will reopen Monday.
Yellow police tape encircling the building was the only sign of Wednesday night's tragedy.
The grocery store's owner fatally shot Leon Scott, 22, of Ville Platte during an alleged robbery. It was the city's first homicide of 2003.
Scott and two other men are accused of robbing the store's owner and his wife as they were preparing to close Wednesday.
Gregory Freeman of Ville Platte was taken into custody Thursday while the third suspect remains on the loose. Police said Friday that they know who the final suspect is but do not want to release his name.
Sgt. Linton Fontenot, who is investigating the case, said Freeman is in custody but has not been officially charged.
Fontenot said no charges have been filed against the storeowner in connection with Scott's death. He further said the case will be turned over to the Evangeline Parish District Attorney's Office for review and determination if any charges will be filed.
Police have not released the name of the storeowner nor that of his wife.
A pall of sadness could be felt at 911 Cypress St. in Ville Platte. This was where Leon Scott had lived off and on with his mother and extended family members.
All of them said Scott had wielded a hammer, not a gun. They were not sure why he was shot to death.
Gladys Marie Scott, Leon Scott's mother, stood outside the Cypress Street house and tearfully asked why the owner shot her son.
Leon Scott's aunt, Belva Laday, said she did not know why, if Scott was robbing the store, was he not shot in the legs rather than the face and in the side.
"Why did he have to die?" she asked as tears welled in her eyes. "He could have lived."
Laday said she was close to her nephew, and he came by her house every day to check on her.
"He was very good, never sassy," Laday said.
Gertie Scott, 20, said that she was close to her brother. She said she is very upset and at the same time surprised that this happened.
"He was quiet and respectful," Gertie Scott said, adding that most people in the neighborhood knew her brother as "Tab," short for his longtime nickname, Ta-boo.
"He drank and stuff, but rob? Never," Gertie Scott said. "He wasn't someone who would be (influenced) by others to do something. He had his own mind."
Standing next to her brother's parked car, Gertie Scott said it would be hard getting over his death.
"We miss him a lot," she said.
Another aunt, Joyce Frank, said Leon Scott and Gregory Freeman, another suspect in the robbery, were close friends and always roughhousing.
"They were really good friends," Frank said. "They would always sit in the house and laugh and joke."
Laday added that you never saw one without the other. She said Freeman was a good boy and she had nothing bad to say about him.
Gladys Scott cried as her family talked about her only son's death. She said she was "in a fog."
The family learned Scott was in bad shape late Wednesday night when the hospital and police contacted them. Laday said her nephew was conscious at the hospital and even asked for his mother and aunt.
She said the family was told he kept saying he was sorry and asked for forgiveness.
They said the hospital staff did their job and tried to save Scott.
"We just don't understand," Laday said.
Fontenot admitted there are some aspects of the incident that remain under investigation. He said at least one man was armed with a gun but did not know about the others involved.
What officers do know is that the three men walked into the store and got an undetermined amount of money from the owner and his wife. The wife called police at 9:55 p.m. to report her husband had been robbed.
Officers arrived to find Scott in the store with wounds to his face and his side. He was taken to Ville Platte Medical Center where he later died.
It is unknown what caused the gunfire, and police said they do not know who fired first and how much of an exchange of gunfire there was.
Officers said they recovered bullet fragments at the scene but have not determined from which weapons they came. It does not appear the other suspects were injured. The owner's wife was "roughed up" but not seriously injured, Fontenot said.
People in Ville Platte described the couple who own the store as "nice" and "hardworking." They apparently live about an hour from Ville Platte and drive to work daily.
Josh Charles and Thaddeus Augustine, both of Ville Platte, live in the neighborhood adjacent to the store.
They said the commotion in the neighborhood that night was tremendous.
"I heard he shot him because he pointed a gun at his wife, and that they shot at him and he shot back," Charles said.
Augustine said he frequented the small store and did not hesitate to say the owners were "nice."
Chris Reed, owner of Dalbis' Meat Market and Grocery, just two blocks from the crime scene said the incident was "horrible."
"How can you put into words something like that happening so close to where you work?" Reed asked. "Those guys (the suspects) have probably been in my store before."
Reed said the whole town has been talking about the robbery and shooting.
"People should know store owners are prepared to defend their stores and their families," he said. "Convenience store owners are in a very high risk business. Now that people know the circumstances of what can happen if you try something like that, maybe they will think again."
Reed said he had introduced himself to the Asian couple that owned the store and that he feels for them.
"They were really good people," he said. "It's sad that two hardworking, honest people were taken advantage of."
Although he could not remember their names, he said they drove an hour to work and an hour back every day of the week, operating the store.
"I feel sorry for the store owners because they have to live with it," Reed said. "I also feel sorry for the family of the criminal because of what they are having to go through."
Reed hopes that many people will reflect on the tragedy that has befallen Ville Platte.
"With all the bad that has happened, I feel some good can come out of this," Reed said.
Reed speculated that the cause of the problem was the drugs that have infiltrated the community.
http://www.thetowntalk.com/html/A6623198-1C92-41E6-93C4-E397512BDA5A.shtml
Posted on January 18, 2003
Mandy Goodnight
VILLE PLATTE - Friday was eerily quiet here at K&T Grocery at 124 W. Lincoln Road.
The store, usually bustling with customers, was closed, and a handwritten sign informed people that the store will reopen Monday.
Yellow police tape encircling the building was the only sign of Wednesday night's tragedy.
The grocery store's owner fatally shot Leon Scott, 22, of Ville Platte during an alleged robbery. It was the city's first homicide of 2003.
Scott and two other men are accused of robbing the store's owner and his wife as they were preparing to close Wednesday.
Gregory Freeman of Ville Platte was taken into custody Thursday while the third suspect remains on the loose. Police said Friday that they know who the final suspect is but do not want to release his name.
Sgt. Linton Fontenot, who is investigating the case, said Freeman is in custody but has not been officially charged.
Fontenot said no charges have been filed against the storeowner in connection with Scott's death. He further said the case will be turned over to the Evangeline Parish District Attorney's Office for review and determination if any charges will be filed.
Police have not released the name of the storeowner nor that of his wife.
A pall of sadness could be felt at 911 Cypress St. in Ville Platte. This was where Leon Scott had lived off and on with his mother and extended family members.
All of them said Scott had wielded a hammer, not a gun. They were not sure why he was shot to death.
Gladys Marie Scott, Leon Scott's mother, stood outside the Cypress Street house and tearfully asked why the owner shot her son.
Leon Scott's aunt, Belva Laday, said she did not know why, if Scott was robbing the store, was he not shot in the legs rather than the face and in the side.
"Why did he have to die?" she asked as tears welled in her eyes. "He could have lived."
Laday said she was close to her nephew, and he came by her house every day to check on her.
"He was very good, never sassy," Laday said.
Gertie Scott, 20, said that she was close to her brother. She said she is very upset and at the same time surprised that this happened.
"He was quiet and respectful," Gertie Scott said, adding that most people in the neighborhood knew her brother as "Tab," short for his longtime nickname, Ta-boo.
"He drank and stuff, but rob? Never," Gertie Scott said. "He wasn't someone who would be (influenced) by others to do something. He had his own mind."
Standing next to her brother's parked car, Gertie Scott said it would be hard getting over his death.
"We miss him a lot," she said.
Another aunt, Joyce Frank, said Leon Scott and Gregory Freeman, another suspect in the robbery, were close friends and always roughhousing.
"They were really good friends," Frank said. "They would always sit in the house and laugh and joke."
Laday added that you never saw one without the other. She said Freeman was a good boy and she had nothing bad to say about him.
Gladys Scott cried as her family talked about her only son's death. She said she was "in a fog."
The family learned Scott was in bad shape late Wednesday night when the hospital and police contacted them. Laday said her nephew was conscious at the hospital and even asked for his mother and aunt.
She said the family was told he kept saying he was sorry and asked for forgiveness.
They said the hospital staff did their job and tried to save Scott.
"We just don't understand," Laday said.
Fontenot admitted there are some aspects of the incident that remain under investigation. He said at least one man was armed with a gun but did not know about the others involved.
What officers do know is that the three men walked into the store and got an undetermined amount of money from the owner and his wife. The wife called police at 9:55 p.m. to report her husband had been robbed.
Officers arrived to find Scott in the store with wounds to his face and his side. He was taken to Ville Platte Medical Center where he later died.
It is unknown what caused the gunfire, and police said they do not know who fired first and how much of an exchange of gunfire there was.
Officers said they recovered bullet fragments at the scene but have not determined from which weapons they came. It does not appear the other suspects were injured. The owner's wife was "roughed up" but not seriously injured, Fontenot said.
People in Ville Platte described the couple who own the store as "nice" and "hardworking." They apparently live about an hour from Ville Platte and drive to work daily.
Josh Charles and Thaddeus Augustine, both of Ville Platte, live in the neighborhood adjacent to the store.
They said the commotion in the neighborhood that night was tremendous.
"I heard he shot him because he pointed a gun at his wife, and that they shot at him and he shot back," Charles said.
Augustine said he frequented the small store and did not hesitate to say the owners were "nice."
Chris Reed, owner of Dalbis' Meat Market and Grocery, just two blocks from the crime scene said the incident was "horrible."
"How can you put into words something like that happening so close to where you work?" Reed asked. "Those guys (the suspects) have probably been in my store before."
Reed said the whole town has been talking about the robbery and shooting.
"People should know store owners are prepared to defend their stores and their families," he said. "Convenience store owners are in a very high risk business. Now that people know the circumstances of what can happen if you try something like that, maybe they will think again."
Reed said he had introduced himself to the Asian couple that owned the store and that he feels for them.
"They were really good people," he said. "It's sad that two hardworking, honest people were taken advantage of."
Although he could not remember their names, he said they drove an hour to work and an hour back every day of the week, operating the store.
"I feel sorry for the store owners because they have to live with it," Reed said. "I also feel sorry for the family of the criminal because of what they are having to go through."
Reed hopes that many people will reflect on the tragedy that has befallen Ville Platte.
"With all the bad that has happened, I feel some good can come out of this," Reed said.
Reed speculated that the cause of the problem was the drugs that have infiltrated the community.
http://www.thetowntalk.com/html/A6623198-1C92-41E6-93C4-E397512BDA5A.shtml
