NEW ORLEANS — The man who caused a disturbance outside the Superdome on Tuesday morning after wielding a knife and subsequently being shot in the arm by an NOPD officer has a crime history that includes murdering his family more than three decades ago.
Our partners at NOLA.com are reporting that 62-year-old Jimmy Earl Deason has a lengthy crime history beyond Tuesday's incident.
In 1990, Eason fatally shot his wife and two young children. He claimed to have a brain disorder, and took lithium and tranquilizer and didn't sleep for a week before the killings.
"I intended to shoot them all, sir,″ he told the judge at his sentencing. "I have a situation where my heart has died inside.”
Deason was sentenced to 40 years in prison, but was released after serving 21 years in 2012.
Deason relocated to New Orleans sometime since 2012. In 2021, he pled guilty to two counts of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to six months in the Orleans Justice Center, according to public records.
After his booking on Tuesday, he resisted medical treatment and refused to appear in court for his bond hearing.
In the wake of Tuesday's incident, his bail has been set at $40,000. Magistrate Commissioner Joyce Sallah urged public defenders and deputies to make sure that Deason gets medical treatment.