GUILTY LA - Braxton Bourda, 15, shot to death on his bike, Larose, 5 June 2014

HOUMA, La. (WGNO) - A Larose teenager is gunned down in broad daylight.

Deputies are searching for who shot and killed South Lafourche High School student Braxton Bourda on E. 23rd Street in Larose.

Lafourche Sheriff Craig Webre says a group of young people were seen dragging Bourda’s body to the side of the road, then walked away, “When the deputies arrived they found him unresponsive. Apparently shot in the head area in the middle of the street.”

A man identifying himself as Bourda’s cousin says the student/athlete was on a path to success, leaving a promising swimming career in his wake, “Yes sir. He’s on the high school swim team. One of the best. The best at 15. Varsity.”

Webre says they’ve identified what they’re calling at this stage in the investigation, a person of interest.

Anyone with information is urged to call CRIMESTOPPERS at 822-1111 or toll-free 1-877-903-STOP.

Read more: http://wgno.com/2014/06/06/south-lafourche-high-student-athlete-shot-and-killed/#ixzz345ASODhs

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Alton Jenkins testified that he and several others, including Gardner and Braxton, were hanging out near an abandoned home. At one point, he said, Gardner stood over a man lying on the porch and pointed the gun at him.

Jenkins demonstrated with an ink pen how Gardner had been holding the gun below his waist when Braxton was shot. He said the two were not feuding and the defendant did not call the victim’s name before the shooting.

But Malik Jenkins, Alton’s first cousin, said Gardner called Braxton’s nickname – B-Rad. He testified that Braxton, who was riding his bicycle toward the front of the street, then turned the bike around and Gardner shot him in the head... Still, he told detectives he believed the shooting was unintentional because there was no ill will within the group.

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A state judge ruled a 20-year-old Galliano man committed involuntary manslaughter when he shot a 15-year-old boy in the head last summer in Larose.

Neely Gardner faces up to 40 years in prison... The judge will sentence him Aug. 28.

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A Galliano man was sentenced this afternoon to 15 years in prison for killing a Larose teenager last summer.

Neely Gardner, 20, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter Aug. 5 for shooting 15-year-old Braxton Bourda in the head June 5, 2014, on East 23rd Street in Larose.

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