NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A man is behind bars in New Orleans on a list of charges that include murder following a police pursuit that began in St. Tammany Parish.
On Thursday morning, units with the NOPD Violent Offenders Warrant Squad, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, and US Marshals responded to a scene in St. Tammany Parish where they hoped to arrest 31-year-old Freddie Smooth.
Police say Smooth then got in a car and tried to run away from the scene, leading to a chase that began on I-10 and Gause Boulevard, traveled across Lake Ponchartrain, and went all the way the 2400 block of Piety Street in New Orleans — totaling about 30 miles.
It was then officers say the suspect tried to run out of the car, but was quickly apprehended.
Smooth was wanted for murder after an investigation led detectives to believe he was responsible for a woman’s death that occurred in New Orleans on November 27.
The incident occurred around 10:30 p.m. near the intersection of Vermillion Boulevard and Elysian Fields Avenue, when a 50-year-old woman was shot while driving.
NOPD reported the woman, later identified as Monique Blunt, then crashed the SUV at a nearby gas station and died shortly after.
An 8-year-old was also in the car at the time of the crash, however, the child was unharmed.
Smooth was booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center where he was booked on the following charges:
- Second-degree murder
- Hit and run driving
- Reckless operation of a vehicle
- Driving with a suspended license
According to the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, Smooth also had two outstanding warrants for aggravated battery and felony possession of a firearm.
