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MANY, La. -- A Sabine Parish juvenile has been sentenced to two years in juvenile detention for being the gunman in a drive-by shooting last year in Zwolle, Sheriff Aaron Mitchell said Friday in a news release.
The juvenile was found guilty following a bench trial on April 10 in Sabine Parish District Court on three charges: assault by drive-by shooting, illegal carrying and discharge of weapons and two counts of illegal possession of a handgun by a juvenile.
The juvenile was arrested in December following a joint investigation by Sabine Parish sheriff's detectives and Zwolle police of shots being fired on Jenny Loop in Zwolle. No one was hit by gunfire, but 9mm casings were found on the scene.
A witness to the shooting identified the shooter as the front passenger of a passing vehicle, providing descriptions of it and the driver. The driver was later identified and brought in for questioning.
The interview revealed the shooter was a juvenile male from Many affiliated with a gang known as “BSK.” Also in the vehicle were three other members of “BSK.”
Excluding the shooter, each occupant of the vehicle was brought in for questioning. All statements given corroborated one another, describing the shooter hanging out of the front passenger window, firing at a crowd on Jenny Loop.
A juvenile arrest warrant was obtained for the shooter and he was taken into custody. Detectives confiscated his cell phone and obtained search warrants for the device. An "overwhelming amounts of digital evidence" was discovered.
Mitchell said there will be "no tolerance for acts of senseless violence. Public safety remains the number one priority of the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office. Detectives urge citizens of our parish to come forward with any information involving illegal gang activity."