By Stephen Hemelt
L’Observateur

BATON ROUGE — The man accused of driving the getaway car following the shooting death of West St. John High School football coach Juan Joseph was charged Wednesday with second degree murder by a Baton Rouge grand jury.

East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III said LeMark Cloud was indicted for second-degree murder and felon in possession of a weapon.

The grand jury pretermitted charges on Kendric Cloud, Moore said, meaning he was not indicted or cleared.

Kendric Cloud was the accused shooter, but his family and attorney have maintained his innocence.

Joseph, 27, was fatally shot at approximately 2 a.m. Nov. 16 outside Allure Nightclub in Baton Rouge. Joseph was taken to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries.

On Nov. 18, authorities arrested Kendric Cloud.

Police arrested LeMark Cloud, who is the cousin of Kendric Cloud, Nov. 17 for illegal use of a weapon and felony possession of a firearm for his suspected role in the shooting.

Moore said on Feb. 3 the court found Kendric Cloud had violated the conditions of his probation, and his probation was revoked.

“His original five-year sentence was executed,” Moore said.

Kendric Cloud remains in custody for that case.

LeMark Cloud was originally billed with accessory after the fact to second-degree murder, felon in possession of a firearm and obstruction of justice.

LeMark Cloud came before the court for an arraignment Jan. 29 and entered a not guilty plea.

“The case has been assigned for motions on March 24, when he will also face revocation of his probation in an unrelated case for attempted possession of hydromorphone,” Moore previously told L’OBSERVATEUR.

Juan Joseph

Joseph taught with the St. John the Baptist School District from 2011 to May of 2014 and was also helping guide the 2014 playoff football team as a CECP coach.

St. John the Baptist Parish Schools Superintendent Kevin George said Joseph recently earned his master of business administration, and in May decided to pursue other career opportunities to further utilize his degree. However, his commitment to the school’s football players never changed.

Joseph played defense on West St. John’s 2003 state championship team as a junior and quarterbacked the Rams’ 2004 state championship team as a senior.

At Division III Millsaps, Joseph was a three-time Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, the first to earn the recognition three times.