NEW ORLEANS — The man accused of killing NOPD officer Marcus McNeil pleaded not guilty to murder of a police officer, along with a slew of other charges, when he appeared in criminal court Wednesday morning.
Darren Bridges, 30, is accused of shooting and killing McNeil in October after McNeil and other NOPD officers tried to initiate a traffic stop. Bridges was also shot and injured by another NOPD officer who was on scene.
The Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office announced that it intends to seek the death penalty against Bridges.
He’s being held in the Orleans Parish Jail on the following charges: first-degree murder of a policeman; battery of a police officer; aggravated assault with a firearm against peace officer; theft; possession of a firearm by a felon; illegal carrying of weapons with controlled dangerous substances; possession of heroin; possession of cocaine; possession of alprazolam; possession of buprenorphine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; possession with intent to distribute alprazolam; possession with intent to distribute tramadol, and aggravated flight from an officer.
McNeil, a 29-year-old, married father of two young children and graduate of St. Augustine High School, had been with NOPD since 2015. Before that, he spent five years working as a children’s literacy coach for the Children’s Defense Fund.