The reason I posted this article has to do more with the colorful decorations this guy had on his house. It is shown in the pictures that accompany the article. No question Big Lee was an LSU fan. The dispute was over a property line, and fence and was going on for ten years. The guy that shot him was 78 years of age. It speaks to the issue of not escalating things with your neighbor.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office has arrested Wayne Higgins, 78, in connection with the fatal shooting of Lee "Big Lee" Martin. Higgins is suspected of shooting Martin outside of his Bonnabel Boulevard home Saturday morning (May 5) after a dispute.

JPSO deputies responded to calls of a shooting around 10:51 a.m. Saturday at Martin's home at 615 Bonnabel Blvd., well known to locals for its displays of purple-and-gold LSU decor. When the officers arrived, they found Martin's body on the ground on the side of the house.

The neighbor living at 619 Bonnabel Blvd. was taken into custody shortly after officers arrived on scene, JPSO Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said.

Glen T. Boyd, a JPSO spokesman, identified Higgins as the neighbor taken into custody Saturday morning.

Authorities were able to obtain video of the incident from a neighbor's home, though that video has not been released publicly. Lopinto said the video showed Martin and a neighbor, now identified as Higgins, getting into a dispute after Martin sprayed the neighbor's black truck with water from a hose.

The argument appeared to escalate, and the video shows the neighbor exiting his vehicle with a gun and shooting Martin. Lopinto said JPSO is still investigating the details of the incident, including how many times Martin was shot.

It is not yet clear what charges Higgins will face.

LINK:
http://www.nola.com/crime/inde...thing_for_you_n.html

“You don’t fuck with another man’s vehicle”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1TSsS-mB6c

He was Big!

Manslaughter fits the situation pretty well .

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Manslaughter fits the situation pretty well .

He sprayed his truck with water, I do not think this warrants shooting him.

From what I read Martin was an aggressive asshole.

quote:

Martin also had a history of run-ins with law enforcement. Last November, Kenner police arrested Martin after a woman accused him of hitting her with his truck. In addition, he was issued a summons in August 2013 for disturbing the peace at a Kenner shopping mall and was arrested in November 2015 on a simple battery charge.

quote:

Originally posted by hurstolds1:

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Manslaughter fits the situation pretty well .

He sprayed his truck with water, I do not think this warrants shooting him.

No, but there is likely more to the story. Whether the "more" makes the shooting justified, or not, is unknown.

The more is that it's a 10 year feud over property lines and I"m sure words between them over time.

It's like I tell a buddy here that I ride with that would roll up to a car that cut him off and pound on the window yelling at them,

You might be bigger, badder and on a big scary motorcycle, but in Florida there are millions of people with guns in cars, don't piss them off or challenge people to prove you are right, you could get shot.

Sure the guy in the car may be wrong, but pulling some shit on people, well, you'll just be dead....

quote:

No, but there is likely more to the story. Whether the "more" makes the shooting justified, or not, is unknown.

Yeah it will come out in time. Big Lee was the owner of a tow truck company. The decorations on his house also indicate some over the top feelings. There are not a lot of nice guys in the towing industry. Think repossession and the like.

The story itself speaks to the issue of getting along with your neighbor.

There is a great show on the ID channel entitled "Fear Thy Neighbor". It delves into these sort of incidents. One of the episodes features an older man who laid wast to almost an ENTIRE family, with a .22 rifle. One daughter who happened to be out at the time was spared. All over a disputed property line. People are bat shit crazy and get tuned up over the dumbest shit.

Interesting picture choice submitted to the press...

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
From what I read Martin was an aggressive asshole.

quote:

Martin also had a history of run-ins with law enforcement. Last November, Kenner police arrested Martin after a woman accused him of hitting her with his truck. In addition, he was issued a summons in August 2013 for disturbing the peace at a Kenner shopping mall and was arrested in November 2015 on a simple battery charge.

Being the town bully and getting away with it will tend to piss townspeople off. Case in point:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_McElroy

In 1980, one of McElroy's children got into an argument with a clerk, Evelyn Sumy, in a local grocery store owned by 70-year-old Ernest "Bo" Bowenkamp and his wife, Lois, allegedly because a younger McElroy child tried to steal some candy. McElroy began stalking the Bowenkamp family, and eventually threatened Bo Bowenkamp in the back of his store with a shotgun in hand. In the ensuing confrontation, McElroy shot Bowenkamp in the neck; Bowenkamp survived, and McElroy was arrested and charged with attempted murder. McElroy was convicted at trial of assault, but freed on bail pending his appeal. Immediately after being released at a post-trial hearing, McElroy went to the D&G Tavern, a local bar, with an M1 Garand rifle, and made graphic threats about what he would do to Mr. Bowenkamp. This led to several patrons deciding to see what they could legally do to prevent McElroy from harming anyone else. Nodaway County Sheriff Dan Estes suggested they form a neighborhood watch.

McElroy's appeal hearing was again delayed. On the morning of July 10, 1981, townspeople met at the Legion Hall in the center of town with Sheriff Estes to discuss how to protect themselves. During the meeting, McElroy arrived at the D&G Tavern with Trena. As he sat drinking at the bar, word got back to the men at the Legion Hall that he was in town. Sheriff Estes instructed the assembled group not to get into a direct confrontation with McElroy, but instead seriously consider forming a neighborhood watch program. Estes then drove out of town in his police cruiser. The citizens decided to go to the tavern en masse. The bar soon filled completely. After McElroy finished his drinks, he purchased a six pack of beer, left the bar, and entered his pickup truck. Someone shot at McElroy while he was sitting in his truck. He was shot at several times and hit twice, once by a centerfire rifle and once by a .22 rimfire rifle. In all, there were 46 potential witnesses to the shooting, including Trena McElroy, who was in the truck with her husband when he was shot. No one called for an ambulance. Only Trena claimed to identify a gunman; every other witness either was unable to name an assailant or claimed not to have seen who fired the fatal shots. The DA declined to press charges. An extensive Federal investigation did not lead to any charges.

quote:

Originally posted by Sgt Neutron:

every other witness either was unable to name an assailant or claimed not to have seen who fired the fatal shots.

Maybe they all shot, but only got two hits.

I wonder if the judge released him on bail, knowing what might happen.