LA - ***ARREST*** Mickey Shunick, 21, Lafayette 19 May 2012 - #33

[chicken fried]

I am wondering how many of you listened to the 15-minute radio interview with Cpl. Paul Mouton on KPEL yesterday at 5:45p - at the height of the electrical storm?

I found it intriguing - wish I had taken notes. One thing that really stood out to me - and the reporter didn't follow up on - was that in describing how they settled on Lavergne, Mouton said something about how they already had Lavergne's license plate and so when the info from the dealership came in, it helped tie him in. It gave me the impression that they already had the plate from one of the videos.

But he said it so fast.... and lightning was crashing around my car - that I can't quite pinpoint the context. Did anyone else hear the interview?!?!? Mouton was saying that having the plate beforehand helped them ID Lavergne later.

Also, Mouton explained how once Lavergne was identified, LE sat on him for awhile - and then when he went to go back on- or off-shore on Thurs., another LE agency called LPD and told them that Lavergne was on the move. And so they were on the lookout for him, and saw him on I-49. He said that the traffic stop was initiated/authorized due to some problem with his RSO status that allowed a pull-over.

Did anyone catch what the problem with the RSO status was? Was it failure to register the new truck?

Forgive me if it's been discussed last night, but I'm not sure many of you caught the radio interview, and it was a good one.

 

[BunnyHop]

Morning all,

I just want to say my biggest concern here, is that there may be other related incidents tied to this guy. I can't help but wonder about other missing persons, arsons, and rapes in the area and beyond.

I also wonder about his incarceration, and if he was able to work/study during that time.

I also wonder if he has committed other crimes as a minor and perhaps those records are sealed.

:moo::twocents::moo::twocents::moo:

From what I read, there's a bayou back of his property too.
Years ago I was in FL and traveled a lonely highway east of Sarasota. It was deserted. At the time I thought; if I broke down out here and someone came along-they would never find me. Swamps to the left of me, and swamps to the right of me.

:couch:

 

[Foxfire]

My best guess is that it would be moved to BR since its a high profile capital murder trial. I was talking to some friends at the DAs office today and they said something that made me sick: everyone better hope Lewis Unglesby doesn't pick up this case pro bono. He's been known to do this in high profile cases.

Lcbrn, motion for change of venue are frequently filed by the defense in high profile cases. However the motions are seldom granted. In Florida's history there has only been three; Ted Bundy, Murder of a State Trooper, & in the Casey Anthony trial the jurors were brought in from an outside county.

Change of venue motion was denied in the Serial Killer Derick Todd Lee case in 2002. Doubt Brandon Lavergne, will be any different..

[PDF]
05KA2098 STATE OF LOUISIANA v. DERRICK TODD LEE

www.lasc.org/opinions/2008/05KA2098.opn.pdf
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
Derrick Todd Lee, with the May 31, 2002, first-degree murder of Charlotte ...... Defendant contends the trial court's denial of his motion for change of venue ...

 

[scapa]

Hi ... I've been trying to catch up and kind of whizzed through all the posts from today. This may have already been posted up thread somewhere but just in case it wasn't, thought I'd post this very interesting little snippet:

bbm:



http://theadvocate.com/home/3281915-125/tip-leads-to-arrest-in

Thanks for this. Filing a petition, along with the whiting out of the RSO designation on his licence, suggests either a profound a shame about his prior actions or -- FAR more likely IMO -- his ability to completely disown responsibility for them. I have a feeling that BL has rewritten those events of 1999 many times into a self-serving narrative into which he was merely a willing partner in a consensual sex act. In his mind the RSO status is both undeserved and oppressive: he did nothing wrong, and society (and young women, no doubt) punished him anyway.

That moment in an offender's mind is for me where the most enormous danger lies, because after that any crime is possible, and justified. This might help to explain BL's position as a "tutor" to other sex offenders in prison -- lord knows what he was teaching them.

s

 

[SurfieTX]

I am wondering how many of you listened to the 15-minute radio interview with Cpl. Paul Mouton on KPEL yesterday at 5:45p - at the height of the electrical storm?

I found it intriguing - wish I had taken notes. One thing that really stood out to me - and the reporter didn't follow up on - was that in describing how they settled on Lavergne, Mouton said something about how they already had Lavergne's license plate and so when the info from the dealership came in, it helped tie him in. It gave me the impression that they already had the plate from one of the videos.

But he said it so fast.... and lightning was crashing around my car - that I can't quite pinpoint the context. Did anyone else hear the interview?!?!? Mouton was saying that having the plate beforehand helped them ID Lavergne later.

Also, Mouton explained how once Lavergne was identified, LE sat on him for awhile - and then when he went to go back on- or off-shore on Thurs., another LE agency called LPD and told them that Lavergne was on the move. And so they were on the lookout for him, and saw him on I-49. He said that the traffic stop was initiated/authorized due to some problem with his RSO status that allowed a pull-over.

Did anyone catch what the problem with the RSO status was? Was it failure to register the new truck?

Forgive me if it's been discussed last night, but I'm not sure many of you caught the radio interview, and it was a good one.

I seem to recall that he altered the RSO status on his DL. I think the dealership lady recognized that.

 

[chicken fried]

Catching up on people's theories:

I see renewed discussion of the white truck, and distorted stills from someone's big-screen TV.

1. Regarding whether Mickey is seen on top of the truck - no. All you have to do is look at the original photo (not cropped/enlarged), and it's clear that there is not a person on top of the truck.

2. What looks like something draped over the right-rear window looks to me like classic lens flare, combined with one of the jagged vertical breaks in the still that LE released. If you compare the pic of the DWT heading right, and the DWT heading left (both at Circle K), you can see the same area of white oversaturation on the rear window of the truck heading left. Looks to me like a light source that reflected off the rear part of the roof of the truck heading right... then was both distorted by the vertical break in the still - and then spilled over through the lens-flare effect, to look like something (a tarp, etc.) hanging down over part of the window.

If you want to see what I mean, look at the picture of Mickey coming toward the camera on Versailles, then look at what looks like a big white blob ahead of Mickey. I and others have compared this blob to night-time photos a WS poster took, and agree that it was created by the bright lights of the bus overhang to her right. Now look at how the light appears to spill around the front side of the 25-mph sign, even though it's not really doing that. This apparent spillage made it look almost like LE had whited something out in the photo. But the more I looked at it, it became apparent to me that it was a lens-flare effect, falsely adding a white smear to the front of the 25-mph sign that really wasn't there.

I believe that this same effect on the 25-m.p.h. sign created the optical illusion of something hanging over the right-rear window of the truck heading right (following Mickey), when it actually wasn't there. Lens flare can do weird stuff, and then when the picture is blown up and the contrast altered, it can look like something it isn't.

3. It seems that BL's m.o. would have been to take someone alive. Note that BL didn't kill his 1999 victim. It would have taken one heck of a high-speed hit to knock Mickey up onto the hood or roof. The fronts of those trucks are tall and vertical and higher than the bike and rider. I doubt that a bump that only bent the back bike rim would have thrown her up there - and I think that at that speed, the bike would have shown a lot more damage. And if he wanted to take her alive, then a hit required to actually knock her up that far would almost certainly have had to be high-speed enough to be fatal, and so why would he hit her that hard? Seems to me he would have wanted to hit her hard enough to knock her off the bike, but not hard enough to kill her outright.

 

[Cajun Chardonnay]

There aren't that many missing/murdered people in Lafayette or the surrounding areas. The only ones I know offhand (I live in this area) are the "Jennings 8" murders.

Yesterday, someone mentioned being in BR and wanting to go to the Whiskey Bay exit. It's interesting to note that Derrick Todd Lee dumped Carrie Yoder and Pam Kinamore at the boat launch over there. Anyways, the place isn't dangerous during daytime, but it will be crawling with fishermen at this time of year.

 

[liltexans]

There aren't that many missing/murdered people in Lafayette or the surrounding areas. The only ones I know offhand (I live in this area) are the "Jennings 8" murders.

Yesterday, someone mentioned being in BR and wanting to go to the Whiskey Bay exit. It's interesting to note that Derrick Todd Lee dumped Carrie Yoder and Pam Kinamore at the boat launch over there. Anyways, the place isn't dangerous during daytime, but it will be crawling with fishermen at this time of year.

:welcome:

 

[chicken fried]

There aren't that many missing/murdered people in Lafayette or the surrounding areas. The only ones I know offhand (I live in this area) are the "Jennings 8" murders.

Yesterday, someone mentioned being in BR and wanting to go to the Whiskey Bay exit. It's interesting to note that Derrick Todd Lee dumped Carrie Yoder and Pam Kinamore at the boat launch over there. Anyways, the place isn't dangerous during daytime, but it will be crawling with fishermen at this time of year.

No, it's not dangerous during daytime. But the area of the bike dump will still likely be deserted. The Pilot Channel there is not considered a good fishing spot. I did see one fisherman there once but he said he had never been there before, and also wasn't getting any bites. IMO opinion it's rare to see a person at the bike-dump spot during daytime.

 

[chicken fried]

There aren't that many missing/murdered people in Lafayette or the surrounding areas. The only ones I know offhand (I live in this area) are the "Jennings 8" murders.

Yesterday, someone mentioned being in BR and wanting to go to the Whiskey Bay exit. It's interesting to note that Derrick Todd Lee dumped Carrie Yoder and Pam Kinamore at the boat launch over there. Anyways, the place isn't dangerous during daytime, but it will be crawling with fishermen at this time of year.

The two victims were found at different places. Can't remember which is which, but one was found in the work canal east of the boat launch (more populated area), and one was found in the woods near the shore west of Hwy. 975 almost under the W. Bay bridge - (unpopulated area).

 

[chicken fried]

I seem to recall that he altered the RSO status on his DL. I think the dealership lady recognized that.

So maybe the report of the altered driver's license was, in itself, grounds to pull him over?

Maybe so.

 

[Cajun Chardonnay]

True on the pilot's channel not being a good fishing spot in and of itself. I seem to remember a lot of traffic around there every time we used the launch, though.

I'm wondering if any of the search parties covered the Sherbourne WMA nearby. It has a road which goes from there all the way up to Krotz Springs, and certain spots of that place are desolate during Spring/Summer due to lack of hunters during those times.

I'm still new to the info on the Lavergne, so could anyone tell me if he was an avid hunter/fisherman before he became a DSO?

 

[Londonrraine]

First, I won't roast you! But remember Ted Bundy? Good looking upstanding citizen of the community, he was, wasn't he, or that is what he showed those who knew him. It doesn't matter what they 'appear' like on the outside. The demon lives on the inside, which is what troubles me.
What your SIL said is so upsetting! I don't believe these guys can be rehabilitated either, and on top of that she says they admit they'll re-offend if free? What can be done to keep these guys locked up, seriously. What can be done? If you know of anything that can be done, please message me or post here. Thankyou!

 

[RockDoc]

I am wondering how many of you listened to the 15-minute radio interview with Cpl. Paul Mouton on KPEL yesterday at 5:45p - at the height of the electrical storm?

I found it intriguing - wish I had taken notes. One thing that really stood out to me - and the reporter didn't follow up on - was that in describing how they settled on Lavergne, Mouton said something about how they already had Lavergne's license plate and so when the info from the dealership came in, it helped tie him in. It gave me the impression that they already had the plate from one of the videos.

But he said it so fast.... and lightning was crashing around my car - that I can't quite pinpoint the context. Did anyone else hear the interview?!?!? Mouton was saying that having the plate beforehand helped them ID Lavergne later.

Also, Mouton explained how once Lavergne was identified, LE sat on him for awhile - and then when he went to go back on- or off-shore on Thurs., another LE agency called LPD and told them that Lavergne was on the move. And so they were on the lookout for him, and saw him on I-49. He said that the traffic stop was initiated/authorized due to some problem with his RSO status that allowed a pull-over.

Did anyone catch what the problem with the RSO status was? Was it failure to register the new truck?

Forgive me if it's been discussed last night, but I'm not sure many of you caught the radio interview, and it was a good one.

I think this is the link refersyou are looking for.

http://kpel965.com/lafayette-police-confirm-brandon-lavergne-arrested-and-charged-in-mickey-shunick-case/

Edit: whoops. No sorry. Wrong one. Still looking.....

 

[crzimmer]

Thanks nurse. It really bothers me that it took a tip to identify and ultimately connect him to this crime. Is anyone else bothered by that? Why didn't LE check out all RSO owning this type of vehicle? Was it not registered under his name, perhaps?

If poster Adam4lsu at Tiger Droppings is correct, this guy was on LE radar very quickly. This guy reported BLS to LE.

They were getting a lot of tips at the beginning, I am sure. It may have taken a while before the focus was placed squarely on BSL.

 

[Londonrraine]

Sorry, I posted this in the wrong place, but you get the jist.

 

[chicken fried]

So let's look at BL's "mistakes.'

1. Bike is found. He likely wasn't aware of how shallow the water is for a distance out from shore, and didn't take into account that a falling water level would expose the bike.

2. Whited-out RSO status on driver's license alerted truck dealership employee.

Working backward from #2, why did he feel the need to burn his truck? Maybe he felt there was enough DNA evidence inside it that he couldn't clean it up? If a struggle occurred inside the truck, this could explain that. As well, if there were enough damage to the front end, maybe he felt that it couldn't easily be covered up, and neighbors would notice. Now - he's a mechanic - don't forget. So am I. Were I wanting to cover it up, I would be thinking in terms of trying to repair it.... before burning my truck. But then I run into the problem of where do I get replacement parts w/o arousing suspicion. That makes it harder. And if it's damage to the front, it's not that easy to just steal that stuff.... it takes awhile to disassemble the front of the truck. Then - even if I have a place to stash the truck until I can repair it, the cops will notice a repair if they come and check me out. Lastly.... if my GF and I are still talking at all, she's going to wonder where my truck is. That will be the first question out of her mouth - "why are you driving your Stealth - where's your truck?"

So maybe all of this combined for him for him to realize that he had to destroy the truck.... make up a story about its being stolen. Still not a good solution, IMO. I would have to expect that a burned truck is going to raise questions.

Bottom line, if he hit her bike with the truck, he just set up a difficult situation for himself. Were there no damage to the truck, forcing him to take action, LE would have a much more difficult time tying him in. So it seems to be that his very m.o. was flawed in that damaging his truck set up a chain of events he could not control. And also tells me he didn't think it thorough all the way. Matches his earlier 1999 problem with explaining the phones ripped out of the wall.

Seems impulsive and didn't think things through completely.

 

[BayouBecky]

BBM; Also, still playing catch up on two threads since yesterday.... oof, people! :floorlaugh:

3. It seems that BL's m.o. would have been to take someone alive. Note that BL didn't kill his 1999 victim. It would have taken one heck of a high-speed hit to knock Mickey up onto the hood or roof. The fronts of those trucks are tall and vertical and higher than the bike and rider. I doubt that a bump that only bent the back bike rim would have thrown her up there - and I think that at that speed, the bike would have shown a lot more damage. And if he wanted to take her alive, then a hit required to actually knock her up that far would almost certainly have had to be high-speed enough to be fatal, and so why would he hit her that hard? Seems to me he would have wanted to hit her hard enough to knock her off the bike, but not hard enough to kill her outright.

I wonder if there's a "happy medium," so to speak -- light enough to damage the bike, hard enough to seriously harm the rider? I'm thinking it would almost take precision to do that, and I don't think BL had it, but is it theoretically possible? Or perhaps he didn't mean to hit her that hard and misjudged it?

Also, I saw a post asking why MS wasn't seen on the "hooptie-cam" on St Landry... pardon me if this was brought up (I'm sure it was), but who says she wasn't? We just don't have verification of it, right?

I'm about to try to trawl through the thread to see what I missed, but on this very very very slow computer, this could take some time. Would some kind soul please sum up anything that might have happened since LE left BL's trailer yesterday? I think I'm caught up to around there, so it's afterwards that I'm still in the dark on.

 

[ERRN1313]

So maybe the report of the altered driver's license was, in itself, grounds to pull him over?

Maybe so.

With LE being on to him and watching, they most likely "manufactured" something to pull him over: no turn signal, weaving, didn't stop at a stop sign, tail light out, etc. Once pulled over, the altered license came into play, or something regarding his RSO statis, enough to detain him.

 

[chicken fried]

And driving the truck to Texas to burns it sets him up another problem - what's his alibi?

I think he was in a trap of his own making as soon as the truck was damaged.

And the dealership employee calling in the altered license proves that the CajunNet is alive and well - and may have solved the case.