A Louisiana woman upset by her ex-boyfriend’s new relationship allegedly hired a hitman and paid to have her 48-year-old love rival murdered in the parking lot of a well-known Metairie apartment complex, Jefferson Parish authorities say.
50-year-old Monica Every was indicted Thursday on charges of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and solicitation of murder. She is accused of master-minding the January 27 fatal shooting of Charlene Jones.
Jones, a mother and grandmother, was gunned down about 5 a.m. in the parking lot of the Gatehouse Apartments as she left for work, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Every pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday in Jefferson Parish Magistrate Court.
34-year-old Louis Gordon, Every’s alleged accomplice and gunman, was also charged with second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and obstruction of justice, court records said.
Gordon was arrested in March in Florida, according to Capt. Jason Rivarde, a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesperson. He has not yet been extradited.
According to detectives, Every’s unnamed boyfriend ended their relationship around Christmas. It’s not clear when he began dating Jones. But Every soon started harassing the couple, calling them repeatedly at home and at work, authorities said.
Detectives suspect Every was the person who called in a phony Crimestoppers tip that implicated Jones in a New Orleans homicide investigation, the Sheriff’s Office said.
“Ever since their breakup, Monica has been harassing the victim multiple times, all through January of 2022,” Detective Scott Bradley said during a hearing in the case.
Investigators determined that Every gave Gordon a $4,000 check after Jones was killed, authorities said. The check was deposited into a bank account belonging to Gordon’s mother.
Gordon’s mother then gave $1,500 of that money to 26-year-old Deja Wall, a woman investigators identified as Gordon’s girlfriend. The Sheriff’s Office discovered communication between Walls and Every that began in January and continued up until the shooting, authorities said.
Using surveillance video, detectives identified the shooter’s getaway vehicle as a red Ford Fusion registered to Walls. In addition to her vehicle, Walls’ cellphone pinged off a cellphone tower near the murder scene, authorities said.
But Walls told investigators she wasn’t in Metairie when Jones was killed. She claimed Gordon had both her car and her phone at the time of the homicide, authorities said. Every and Gordon also denied involvement in the killing.
Walls had initially been booked on a count of second-degree murder. But the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office instead charged her only with money laundering on June 29, court records said. Walls pleaded not guilty and was released from the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna July 7 on $10,000 bail.
Once Gordon is brought back to Jefferson Parish, he will be held on $1 million bail.
After Every’s March 2 arrest, she was released from jail on a $600,000 bail. She was rearrested Thursday after the indictment and was still being held in jail Monday. Her bail was set at $1.15 million.
Every is the mother of 29-year-old Joshua Every, who is charged with first-degree murder and accused of killing manager Taylor Friloux during a 2016’s armed robbery at a Kenner Raising Cane’s armed robbery.
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