Robbery leads to murder near Covington

Three men are in the St. Tammany Parish Jail on robbery and second-degree murder charges in connection with a botched robbery Tuesday night that resulted in the death of an 18-year-old man in the Abita Nursery subdivision near Covington.

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. George Bonnett said deputies got a 911 call from the female friend of the victim at 8 p.m. Tuesday. She told dispatchers her friend had allegedly been attacked by three men outside a home on Jasmine Street in the subdivision. According to the woman, she and the victim, identified as Joshua Farmer of Covington, were driving in the area and had stopped to talk to the three men. The subdivision is located on Louisiana Highway 36 between Covington and Abita Springs.

Deputies arrived on the scene, and Farmer was treated and taken to St. Tammany Parish Hospital. Sheriff Jack Strain announced Wednesday that Farmer died from his injuries early Wednesday afternoon.

Bonnett would not elaborate on the nature of the injuries but said there were no weapons involved, and there were no reports of gunshots in the area.

“It looked like this was a hand-to-hand incident,” Bonnett said, adding investigators believe robbery was the motive for the attack. Preliminary reports from the Coroner’s Office indicate head injury may have been the cause of death, but a full report with an official determination was expected later.

It is unclear what led the men to target Farmer.

“It’s easy to make assumptions as to why they were there, but we don’t want to speculate,” Bonnett said. “The investigators are still piecing this together.”

Bonnett said investigators quickly found out Tuesday night the three suspects were at a home in Lacombe. Deputies went to the house and arrested the three men on one count each of second-degree aggravated battery. The suspects are Pierre Perkins, 20, 21225 Fern St., Covington, Brenton Hills, 21, 74245 Jasmine St., Covington, and Cedric McCormick, 19, 10973 Cherryhill Ave., Baton Rouge.

Two of the three men have criminal records. McCormick was arrested on charges of aggravated battery and burglary in the Baton Rouge area in 2008, while Perkins was arrested on narcotics charges in St. Tammany in 2007 and 2008.

After the victim died Wednesday, Bonnett said the charges on the three men were changed to one count of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree robbery for each of the suspects. Bonnett said bond hearings on the three would be set later.

This is the third homicide in the parish for 2009.