NEW ORLEANS — In a bizarre twist to the shooting of a deputy constable serving an eviction nearly a month ago in New Orleans East, the property manager who also was wounded in the shooting will apparently face criminal charges of his own.
According to multiple sources, Deputy Constable Warren Smith, 53, was almost finished peacefully serving the eviction notice on Jason Tillman, 23, when the property manager inserted himself into what appeared to be a calm situation, calm enough that a second deputy constable had left the premises.
Our sources say the property manager, 36, allegedly showed up armed with a gun, escalating the scene into a confrontation in which Tillman retrieved a gun. In the shooting that followed, the property manager ultimately was hit in the torso and Smith was struck in the shoulder, the sources said.
Tillman was captured later that day after one of the biggest manhunts in recent history, with SWAT teams swarming two different locations with massive support from other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. The officers first tried to corner
Tillman in the 7800 block of Coronet Court, where he was being served with the eviction notice, but he slipped past that perimeter.
He was then located 10 miles away on Iberville Street in Mid-City where he was eventually coaxed out of a house without further incident.
An odd silence has enveloped the case since that day as the NOPD’s Force Investigation Team tried to untangle what is now being described as a complicated set of facts. Tillman initially was only booked with violating probation in an earlier burglary conviction, then was re-booked five days later with an unrelated armed robbery based on an outstanding warrant.
Then five days ago, as detectives began connecting the dots, Tillman was re-booked with being a felon with a firearm, but still no charges related to the shooting itself.
First City Court Constable Lambert Boissiere Jr. said the violent scenario is “exactly why always tell the landlord to step back and let us handle the eviction.”
“Let the deputies do their job and don’t try to interfere,” he said.
Boissiere said Smith has not yet returned to work, but is well on his road to a full recovery.
WWL-TV will continue to update this developing story as more information becomes available.
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