LAPLACE — Craig A. Lee Sr., 52, of Norco was arrested Wednesday and charged with accessory after the fact to second-degree murder in connection to last month’s double homicide that claimed the lives of cousins Kerell Sanders, 18, and Kyron Perrilloux, 20.

Based on information gathered during investigation, detectives believe Lee had direct knowledge of the homicides and committed acts after the time of the homicides to hinder the investigation.
Lee, a convicted felon, has been transferred to St. Charles Parish’s Nelson Coleman Corrections Facility. As of Thursday morning, bond had not yet been set.

Lee is the third person arrested in connection to the murders. Shortly after the double homicide, authorities arrested Kelvin Timothy Taylor, 31, of LaPlace and Theron J. Williams, 25, of New Orleans. Both were charged with two counts of second-degree murder and are being held on a $1 million bond.

Sheriff Mike Tregre said he could not divulge further information about how Lee hindered the investigation as of Thursday evening. However, he said the investigation is ongoing as police search for others who may be connected to the murders.

“My guys are working hard, and we’re not going to stop,” Tregre said. “I’m using every available resource.”

Just after midnight on July 30, deputies responded to the area of East 22nd Street and W. Airline Highway in Reserve in reference to a vehicle in a ditch. Upon arrival, officers discovered two males, identified as Sanders and Perrilloux, in a vehicle that crashed into a ditch. Both subjects had been shot, and they were pronounced deceased at the scene by the coroner’s office.

During the investigation, detectives reviewed crime cameras in the area at the time the incident occurred; and they developed Williams and Taylor as suspects. Based on further investigation, detectives also developed Lee as a suspect.
A motive has not been determined at this time.
Lee has been arrested 16 times in St. John Parish since 1987.

In March, S.W.A.T. officers breached the front door of Lee’s LaPlace home and recovered an AK-47, two AR-15s and two handguns in addition to eight grams of cocaine, a gram of methamphetamine, 20 dosage units of Xanax, two grams of marijuana, two grams of heroin, two dosage units of amphetamine and drug distribution equipment.

Investigators described the drug tools on scene linking three suspects as “100 percent sellers.”

Lee, who was not at home during the raid, was arrested a few hours later while approaching the home. His son, Craig Lee Jr., 30, and Devonte Johnson, 25, were arrested during the police response.

At the time of the investigation, police said all three suspects were named persons of interest in several violent crimes in St. John Parish.  Tregre said the trio’s names have popped up in numerous local homicide investigations dating back years.

Lee Sr. posted a $343,000 bond and was released the same day as his arrest in April, charged with more than a dozen drug and gun crimes.