A 25-year-old Terrytown man is behind bars this week, accused of gunning down a victim near a Metairie bar in a shooting that left the man dead at the hospital the following day. Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto announced the arrest of Iverson Arnanda-Mena on charges of second-degree murder.
According to WWL-TV, Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a report of a shooting near a bar in the 2500 block of North Woodlawn Avenue in Metairie at roughly 6:10 a.m. on Sunday. Deputies found the victim suffering from gunshot wounds inside a vehicle near the intersection of North Woodlawn Avenue and Hearst Street, per the sheriff's office. The victim was rushed to a local hospital but died from the injuries the following day, October 5.
Detectives moved quickly to identify a suspect, obtaining an arrest warrant for Arnanda-Mena as the homicide investigation unfolded. The station's report indicates that JPSO detectives tracked him down and arrested him on Wednesday in Terrytown, on the parish's West Bank, before he was booked into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.
A Manhunt That Crossed the Mississippi River
The case involved locations in both Metairie and Terrytown. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office investigated the case, according to official JPSO records.
Arnanda-Mena is now being held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center, a county or city jail in Gretna. The sheriff's office says its investigation into the homicide remains ongoing and is asking anyone with information to contact the Homicide Section at 504-364-5300, or to reach out anonymously through Crimestoppers, which offers cash rewards of up to $2,500 for tips leading to felony arrests, according to Crimestoppers Greater New Orleans.
What Second-Degree Murder Means Under Louisiana Law
If convicted, Arnanda-Mena would face a mandatory sentence with no room for a judge's discretion. Under Louisiana Revised Statutes § 14:30.1, a second-degree murder conviction carries an automatic sentence of life imprisonment at hard labor without the possibility of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, according to the Louisiana State Legislature. A January 2024 fact sheet from The Sentencing Project found that more than half of Louisiana inmates serving life without parole were convicted of second-degree murder, and that the state is among just two nationwide that mandate life without parole for every such conviction.
The charge follows a familiar pattern for Jefferson Parish prosecutors, who have pursued several recent murder cases tied to Metairie violence. In May, a Jefferson Parish jury returned a first-degree murder conviction against a 28-year-old defendant following a three-day jury trial in the mailbox slaying of a Metairie handyman. It is not yet known whether Arnanda-Mena and the victim knew each other, and the sheriff's office has not released the identity of the person killed.
Latest in a String of Metairie Shootings
This is at least the second violent shooting JPSO has investigated in Metairie in recent weeks. Earlier this month, a road-rage shooting in Metairie was among the cases Hoodline previously covered. Jefferson Parish deputies also conduct broader multi-agency fugitive sweeps across the metro area.
For now, the homicide investigation into the October 4 shooting continues, with detectives still working to fill in the circumstances that led to the deadly encounter outside the Metairie bar. Anyone with information is urged to contact JPSO's Homicide Section or submit a tip through Crimestoppers.
