Before her murder, 48-year-old Charlene Jones had been having a lot of trouble with her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend, 49-year-old Monica Every, authorities said.
Jones had been on the receiving end of a campaign of harassment waged by Every that included endless phone calls and even a phony tip called in to Crimestoppers to try and implicate her in a crime, according to Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Detective Scott Bradley.
Every is one of three suspects arrested in connection with the murder of Jones, who was gunned down Jan. 27 in the parking lot of her Metairie apartment complex. In addition to second-degree murder, Every is charged with solicitation to commit the murder.
During a preliminary hearing on the case Monday, investigators revealed that Every paid $4,000 to her co-defendants after Jones was killed.
Those co-defendants include 26-year-old Deja Walls and an unnamed man identified by authorities during Monday’s hearing as Walls’ boyfriend. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office has not released the man’s name, but he has been arrested in another jurisdiction and is awaiting extradition.
The Sheriff’s Office has not said what charges he faces in Jefferson Parish.
The preliminary hearing held Monday in Jefferson Parish Magistrate Court was for Walls, who is jailed at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna on a second-degree murder charge.
Every was not present for the hearing. She was released March 2 on a $600,000 bond and could not be reached for comment.
Jones, a grandmother, was shot multiple times while in her vehicle in the parking lot of the Gatehouse Apartments in Metairie about 5 a.m. She had been headed to work, relatives said.
Jones’ boyfriend, who lived with her, told authorities about the trouble with Every, Bradley testified. He had broken up with Every a month earlier during the Christmas holidays, a split that apparently left her furious.
“Ever since their breakup, Monica has been harassing the victim multiple times, all through January of 2022,” Bradley said.
Relatives and investigators suspect Every was behind a Crimestoppers tip called in the weeks before Jones was killed. The tipster accused Jones of being in possession of a gun that had been used in a New Orleans murder, Bradley said.
“The boyfriend’s criminal record was sent to [Jones’] apartment complex in an attempt to get him kicked out,” Bradley testified.
While continuing to investigate Every, detectives used surveillance video to find the shooter’s alleged getaway vehicle. They eventually identified a dark red Ford Fusion registered to Walls as the sedan seen fleeing the scene, according to Bradley.
Investigators checked phone records and discovered communication between Walls and Every that began in January and continued until after the murder, Bradley testified.
Cell tower location information indicated that Walls’ cellphone was in the area of Jones’ apartment complex at the time of the murder, Bradley said.
When questioned by investigators, Walls said she didn’t have her car or her cellphone at the time of the murder, having given both to her boyfriend, Bradley said.
Walls admitted that the Every had given her boyfriend a $4,000 check after Jones’ murder. The check was handed to the mother of Walls’ boyfriend, who deposited it into her bank account, Bradley said.
Detectives interviewed the mother of Walls’ boyfriend. She said she gave Walls $1,500 of that $4,000, Bradley testified.
Investigators also interviewed Walls’ unnamed boyfriend.
“He denied his involvement, leading me to believe Ms. Walls had the vehicle at the time of the homicide,” Bradley said.
Every denied involvement in the murder, Bradley said. She did tell investigators that Walls had wanted to arrange a robbery at the Gatehouse apartments, but she wasn’t sure if the robbery had taken place.
Magistrate Commissioner Paul Schneider ruled there was probable cause to continue holding Walls on the murder charge. He also denied a motion to reduce her $500,000 bond.
Source: NOLA.com
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