Fifth man arrested in Ferriday murder

Published 12:00 am Thursday, May 27, 2010

FERRIDAY — A Ferriday man joined his brother and three others in jail as the fifth person arrested in connection with an early April murder.

Ferriday police arrested Reginald J. Butler, 30, 359 Doty Road, Thursday evening on charges of second-degree murder following a grand jury indictment.

The murder charges stem from the April 3 fatal shooting of 25-year-old Reginald Green, who was gunned down as he sat in a parked SUV in the 800 block of Alabama Avenue. He was shot numerous times in the torso and head with a .223-caliber assault rifle.

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Three other people in the vehicle at the time were uninjured in the shooting.

Butler allegedly drove the vehicle the alleged shooter in the crime — Bryant LaKeith Bethley — rode in while leaving the scene of the crime, Ferriday Investigator Dennis Cowan said.

Bethley, 35, 126 Lee Tyler Road, was arrested at a Clayton residence the next morning on charges of first-degree murder, three counts attempted first-degree murder and parole violation.

Reginald Butler’s brother, Daniel Butler, was arrested April 16 on murder charges because he was also allegedly in the vehicle at the time of the shooting. Daniel Butler also faces obstruction of justice charges because he allegedly tried to destroy evidence associated with the case.

The fourth suspect in the case, Andreas M. Cauley, 34, 332 Doty Road, was arrested April 8 on charges of accessory after the fact to murder and obstruction of justice because he allegedly threw the murder weapon into Black Bayou. Agents from the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries later recovered the weapon.

The fifth suspect, Derrick Dewayne Bates, 29, 738 Louisiana 573, St. Joseph, was charged with accessory after the fact to murder because he was reportedly at the residence where police found Bethley. Bates was reportedly hiding.

Following his arrest, Reginald Butler’s bond was set at $325,000.