DA Collin Sims reports that last week a Washington Parish jury deliberated for 27 minutes before returning a series of guilty verdicts against 21 YO Andrew Pernell of Angie relating to his violent crime spree in 2021.
Pernell was convicted of Second degree murder, Attempted second degree murder, Conspiracy to commit second degree murder and Assault by drive-by shooting.
Assistant District Attorneys Tiffany Dover and Elizabeth Authement pieced together the compelling evidence during the trial, over which Judge Ellen Creel presided. The Bogalusa Police Department and the Louisiana State Police jointly investigated these crimes. Lt. Casey Hidalgo headed the investigation for Bogalusa PD and Investigator Stefan Montgomery spearheaded LSP’s investigative efforts.
Prosecutors called more than 27 witnesses to the stand during the five-day trial. Testimony established that on August 23, 2021, Pernell and two other perpetrators gunned down Bogalusa High School senior Aaron Brown as he walked home from school. Officers with Bogalusa Police responded to multiple 911 callers reporting gunfire in the area of Hickory Avenue and Dan Street. They found Brown face down in the street near Juliette’s Beauty Supply on Hickory Avenue. Brown had suffered numerous gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Eleven 5.56 caliber spent cartridges and two 9mm spent cartridges were located in the vicinity of Brown’s body.
During the evening of September 15, 2021, just weeks after killing Brown, Pernell drove down Main Street in Bogalusa and paused to pull out an AK-47 and fire at least 18 shots at a residence occupied by several adults and young children. Many of the projectiles struck the residence but, luckily, no one was injured.
On the afternoon of September 20, 2021, Pernell concluded his crime spree by shooting a 13-year-old boy just after the boy had stepped off a school bus on Main Street in Bogalusa. After firing off nine shots, Pernell attempted to flee the area but wrecked his vehicle several blocks away. Bogalusa police officers rushed to the scene and were able to quickly apprehend Pernell.
Upon hearing the jury’s guilty verdicts read aloud, Pernell responded by laughing.
He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison when Judge Creel sentences him, presently scheduled for September 5, 2024.
