NEW ORLEANS — A man accused of shooting and killing a New Orleans man who had arranged the sale of a dirt bike over the internet said he did so in self defense after the man pulled a gun on him during the botched sale.
Investigators said in court Wednesday Jalen Harvey told them he shot Joseph Vindel during the exchange when Vindel pulled a gun on him.
During testimony, an investigator said Vindel did have a gun with him, but they believe evidence shows that he wasn’t holding it when Harvey fired several shots. The record shows that Vindel was shot in the left hand that Harvey said he held the gun with, even though investigators said there was no damage to the gun.
The testimony came during a probable cause hearing for Harvey, who faces first-degree murder counts as well as a few other counts related to the killing.
Detective Kurt Zeagler said that one of the bullets entered between two fingers on Vindel’s left hand, traveled through the palm and exited the webbing between Vindel’s thumb and pointer finger, “ultimately making it impossible for him to have been holding the gun, as (Vindel’s) gun evidenced no damage,” according to NOLA.com.
Zeagler also testified that detectives believe that Harvey may have tried to pay Vindel with fake money as some of the cash, that Zeagler described as the kind used in movies, was found in Harvey’s apartment and part of a fake $100 bill was found in Vindel’s vehicle.
Vindel and Harvey exchanged text messages for a sale of the dirt bike and Vindel was shot after arriving at Harvey’s location for the sale.
Little is known for certain about what led to the shooting, but Vindel was reported missing by his family and girlfriend when he didn’t return from the expected dirt bike sale.
Investigators said Harvey told them that he drove Vindel’s vehicle to a spot behind an apartment building, which is where he was discovered. Harvey then used the dirt bike to drive back to his home on the west bank.
In response to the killing, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office established two exchange zones with 24-hour surveillance at two JPSO facilities on the east and west banks.