Police search for truck, other clues in murder of 17-year-old man

The Plaquemine Police are searching for a pick-up truck and other clues in the murder Saturday night of 17-year-old Jamarius D. Riley of Plaquemine, found shot on Allen Street, Capt. Kenneth Payne reported.

Riley's body was found face down in a vacant lot near the intersection of Allen and Taylor Street just before midnight, Payne said. He said the body had four gunshot wounds.

Riley left his job at a local grocery store at 9 p.m. Saturday night with a bag of some items he purchased there, Payne said. He said  the bag, containing the store receipt, was found in Riley's hand when he was found a block and a half away from his residence.

The captain said Riley apparently was shot near the roadway,  and  walked 20 to 30 feet and fell near a vacant building.

A witness who heard gunshots reported seeing a late-model Dodge pick-up truck in the area at the time of the shooting, Payne said. He described the truck as   dark green or black in color, with a single cab, dark tinted windows, a short wheel base with factory rims.

Police are asking anyone with information on the truck or the shooting to call police headquarters at 687-9273for Payne or Detective Robert Johnson.

Payne said a resident flagged down a police patrol car around 11:55 p.m. to report the body in the vacant lot.

“It does not appear robbery was the motive,” he said. “He had money in his pocket.”

Payne said police also do not know if Riley had walked or had gotten a ride from the store when he got off work.

“There are a lot of leads that we're following, and we're following every one that comes in,” the captain said.

Because of the time of night and the weather conditions, few people were out that night, he said.

“We don't have a lot of witnesses,” Payne said.