[StBernard] After shootout near Arabi, two New Orleans men and an Arabi woman arrested

[Westley Annis]

After shootout near Arabi, two New Orleans men and an Arabi woman arrested

Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
Print Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Benjamin
Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
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on July 30, 2014 at 6:40 PM, updated July 30, 2014 at 7:18 PM

After a shootout between passengers in two vehicles driving toward Arabi on
Monday evening, two New Orleans men and an Arabi woman were arrested,
according to information provided by both the New Orleans police and the St.
Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office on Wednesday (July 30).

Terrance Augustine and Bryan Smith, both 21 of New Orleans, were booked on
charges of illegal use of weapons, according to the NOPD.

Joenica Johnson, 20, who told St. Bernard sheriff's officials that she was
driving the other vehicle, was booked on Tuesday on drug charges, according
to the Sheriff's Office.

About 6 p.m. Monday, passengers in two vehicles heading towards Arabi on
Claiborne Avenue in the Lower 9th Ward began firing at one another, with
bullets striking both vehicles but causing no injuries, according to the St.
Bernard Sheriff's Office.

Johnson told sheriff's officials under questioning that she was driving one
of the vehicles, according to the Sheriff's Office. She told authorities
that she had several children inside the Acura that she was driving when
passengers in the other vehicle -- later pulled over with Augustine and
Smith inside -- began firing at the Acura, according to the Sheriff's
Office.

She told deputies that no one in the Acura fired back, according to the
Sheriff's Office. St. Bernard sheriff's officials on Wednesday said that
they did not believe her story, but they would not provide further details.

Augustine and Smith later were pulled over by sheriff's deputies on Patricia
Street in Arabi in a bullet-hole ridden vehicle, according to the Sheriff's
Office. They were turned over to New Orleans police in connection with the
shooting, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's officials questioned Johnson on Tuesday morning after they located
a black Acura in her apartment building's parking lot with several bullet
holes in its passenger side.

That Acura was found in Arabi under a tarp in the parking lot on the 1200
block of Mehle Street, according to the Sheriff's Office. New Orleans police
later towed it away as a part of its investigation into the shooting,
according to the Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's narcotics officials found drugs in her purse, according to the
Sheriff's Office.

She was booked on possession with intent to distribute about 15 grams of
methamphetamine and 30 tablets of MDMA or Ecstasy. She also was booked with
possession of the prescription painkiller pills Tramadol and hydrocodone,
according to the Sheriff's Office.