Two months before a St. Gabriel police officer allegedly shot and killed a man in front of his estranged wife at her home, he stalked the woman in a car borrowed from a coworker so she wouldn’t know it was him, according to an arrest warrant.
Andre Redditt is accused of killing Dylan Martin, a 26-year-old Denham Springs man who Reddit’s wife said was her best friend, in an overnight encounter on Arcwood Drive last week. The wife — who had filed for a divorce in January, accusing the officer of domestically abusing her — requested a restraining order hours after the shooting.
Redditt, 27, was arrested on counts of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice, with his bond set at $275,000. After Redditt’s arrest, the St. Gabriel Police chief released a statement saying the officer has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
A third charge of stalking was also later added to the list, resulting in Redditt appearing via Zoom in a Livingston Parish court room on Thursday to determine if he should be held without bond.
The hearing — known as a Gwen’s Law or 313 hearing — is generally reserved for serious domestic violence cases where judges closely consider the safety of victims before setting or withholding bond.
An arrest warrant describes how Redditt stalked his wife on Dec. 31 of last year, when the married couple was already separated and had not lived together since August 2022.
Redditt’s wife was visiting a friend’s house when she noticed a suspicious vehicle, the warrant says. She told authorities it “‘creeped’ by, which she thought was strange.
She then got a call from her mother saying Redditt was at her mother’s house. When Redditt’s wife arrived, she saw the car she didn’t recognize parked in front of the house.
At first, the warrant says, his wife didn’t think anything of it because the neighbors were having a party.
When she met Redditt at her mother’s residence, the couple began arguing, leading to Redditt taking her phone from her, according to the warrant. She eventually got her phone back and left after Redditt refused to leave.
But when she got to her car, she decided to park around the corner, turning the vehicle’s lights off to see if Redditt left in the car she didn’t recognize. Soon, she saw that car start to drive past, the warrant says. She turned on her headlights to see who was in the driver’s seat and spotted Redditt.
Redditt’s wife then texted her husband, asking him about the car. The warrant says Redditt admitted to her he had borrwed a coworker’s car because he knew she would recognize his truck.
Days later, on Jan. 11, 2023, Redditt’s wife filed for divorce in Livingston Parish, claiming her husband had “engaged in countless physical, mental and emotional attacks upon her” during the marriage, court records show.
At the hearing on Thursday, Redditt’s wife took the stand and said she fears for her safety and that of her children, according to the district attorney’s office. She added she was afraid Redditt would either kill her, or kill himself in front of her and make her watch, prosecutors said.
In the hearing, the judge ruled the officer should be held without bond, according to the district attorney’s office. A lawyer representing Redditt did not immediately return a request for comment.
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