BEAUMONT — KFDM News has learned the Jefferson County grand jury returned two no bills Wednesday in the case of two suspects charged with Murder in the Perlstein Park shooting, while a third suspect was indicted for Tampering With Evidence.
“We presented all of the evidence to the grand jury and we respect their decision,” Assistant District Attorney Brit Featherston told KFDM News.
“As with any case, the decision regarding criminal charges ultimately rests within the judicial process,” said BPD. ” We respect the grand jury’s decision and remain committed to thoroughly investigating violent crimes.”
The grand jury returned two no bills of indictment, choosing not to indict Jean Harrell and Demarion Smith, both 18, for murder in the Thursday, May 7 shooting death of Brannon Briggs, also 18. The grand jury indicted Darien Harrington for Tampering With Evidence, accused of removing a rifle from the vicinity of Briggs and hiding it in a nearby garbage can at the park. Police say a surveillance camera at the park shows Harrington hiding the rifle, and police say he admitted to it.
A no bill of indictment is an official decision by a grand jury declining to approve charges proposed by a prosecutor. It means the grand jury determined there is insufficient evidence or probable cause to proceed with a trial, resulting in the immediate dismissal of the case.
Magistrate Marc DeRouen set bond at $1.2 million for Harrell. The former West Brook High School senior football player now enrolled at Pathways Alternative Center was the first suspect charged with murdering Briggs at Perlstein Park following what Beaumont police call a meet-up and planned fight involving BISD students. Magistrate Richard Hughes set bond at $1.25 million for Smith, who is a West Brook senior.
Both suspects were released from jail Wednesday afternoon following the grand jury’s decision not to return indictments.
Briggs had attended Beaumont United but was also a Pathways student at the time he was killed.
Briggs was rushed by EMS to CHRISTUS St. Elizabeth Hospital where he died from a single gunshot wound to the back.
The call came in at about 3:40 Thursday afternoon, May 7, reporting a large group fighting and shots fired at Perlstein Park in the 8900 block of Landis, in the Amelia neighborhood near Major Drive and College.
When officers arrived they found 18-year-old Briggs on the ground suffering from a gunshot wound.
District Chief Scott Wheat with Beaumont Fire & Rescue tells KFDM paramedics treated the teen for a gunshot wound and transported him to a hospital as a trauma alert patient where he died.
“We’re not sure what the motive is or what the reasoning was for gathering and fighting, but for it to escalate into somebody losing their life, it’s just completely avoidable,” said Sgt. Morrow.
Sgt. Morrow says cameras from the Real-Time Crime Center at the park captured evidence related to the shooting and nearby license plate readers helped identify a suspect vehicle.