By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

METAIRIE – St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre held a press conference at the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Thursday to announce another reward increase for information pertaining to the April murder of Donovan Bailey.
The family and friends of Bailey, 29, collected money to raise the reward total to $10,000 for information that leads to the arrest and indictment of the parties responsible for the homicide, a $5,500 increase. In May, the family pooled together to donate $2,000 to the existing $2,500 Crimestoppers reward, bringing the total to $4,500.
Deputies responded to a shooting on April 17 at the 300 block of East 13th Street in Reserve. Bailey was shot once in the the upper torso and succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. Two friends that were with Bailey during the shooting told investigators that they had just dropped off some friends at the rear of East 13th Street and that their van was fired upon while they were leaving the area. Bailey was driving the van.
Tregre mentioned that someone had been tearing down Crimestoppers fliers the family had posted around the community. The sheriff addressed the vandals, saying “You can tear them down all you want. We’re going to put them right back up. That’s going to motivate the cause and get people behind us.”
Regarding Bailey’s case, Tregre went on to say that he and his detectives were “very close” and is aware that there are people who are willing to talk.
Crimestoppers President and CEO Darlene Cusanza was also present at the conference along with the family and friends of Bailey.
“It takes a lot of courage for a family member to be here and ask once again for the community’s help in this case. My heart really goes out to them because I’ve never seen a family work so hard to get the message out about their son’s case,” said Cusanza.
Detectives encourage anyone with information regarding this incident to call St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives at 985-359-TIPS or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111. Submitting an anonymous tip to Crimestoppers may qualify for a cash reward.
Tippers will not be required to testify in court and will be issued a tip number to be identified for the potential award.