Number of Unsolved Homicides In New Iberia Being Disputed

The mayor of New Iberia is disputing the number of unsolved homicide cases in his city according to an interview he gave with KLFY.

Earlier this week, Channel 10 interviewed former councilman and now activist Raymond "Shoe-Do Lewis" who said since 2018, the city has had 17 unsolved homicides.

Now, New Iberia Mayor Freddy DeCourt is saying that the number is actually lower than people think. He says since 2018,  the New Iberia Police Department has had 44 murders, and 35 of them have been solved.

I reached out to the New Iberia Police Department about which numbers are correct. I spoke to Captain Leland Laseter to follow up about the "8 incidents" that are listed in Lewis' paperwork from his records request.

The correct information is that there are eight unsolved homicides with one of the cases having two victims. There are not 17 unsolved homicides. Officials are still diligently working to solve the outstanding cases each day.

Lewis is very interested in crime in his city. In 2019, Lewis' son, Garol Paul Lewis, only 17-years-old was found dead in a car after being shot in the head. After his son's death, Lewis started the G.P.A.L. (Garon Paul Atkinson Lewis) Foundation.

Lewis says something must be done to bring crime under control in New Iberia.

Mayor DeCourt says the community is coming together to share more information about crimes that are happening. He told KLFY,

We had 44 murders since the N.I.P.D. has been formed which is over five years. We have solved 35. That leaves nine open cases that we are definitely still working to bring justice to our community.

DeCourt points out that their rate of solving these cases is 80% which is far above 50% for most other departments.