PRAIRIEVILLE, La. (BRPROUD) — A 19-year-old has pled guilty to manslaughter in connection to a stabbing death in 2020.
According to the 23rd Judicial District Attorney, Benjamin Evans, 19, agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter in the death of 39-year-old Nathaniel Meleod Sr.
A news release said that Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a reported stabbing in a trailer park on Oct. 5, 2020. Upon arrival, deputies found Meleod Sr. on the ground near a mobile home with multiple stab wounds to his body.
During an interview with witnesses, detectives learned the victim was in a physical altercation inside the residence with Evans. Evans was reportedly seen grabbing a knife and stabbing the victim before fleeing the scene. Detectives found Evans at a nearby residence.
After performing a search warrant, detectives found a bag with clothes, bloody garden gloves and a knife that fit the description from a witness.
Police said at the time of the crime, Evans was 17 years old. He was arrested and charged with second-degree murder as a juvenile. Evans was taken to the St. Bernard Juvenile Detention Center. He was indicted by an Ascension Parish grand jury on the second-degree murder charge, and the news release said the matter was transferred to the district court where he was tried as an adult.
Evans was sentenced to serve 20 years at the Louisiana Department of Corrections with credit for time served.
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