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Fugitive Tracked Down

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By TODD LESKANIC

tleskanic@tampatrib.com

Published: October 8, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Luc Pierre-Charles Jr. avoided authorities for more than four months.

Knowing he was wanted in the 2006 shooting deaths of Derek Pieper and Raymond Veluz, Pierre-Charles moved from friend to friend, relative to relative.

At some point, he arrived at a relative's home in the east-central Florida town of Rockledge. Members of the U.S. Marshals Service found him there just before midnight Monday, hiding between a bed and a wall and under some dirty clothes.

He surrendered only after the marshals shot him with a stun gun.

Pasco County Sheriff Bob White and Scott Ley of the U.S. Marshals Service in Tampa announced the capture at a news conference Tuesday. Pierre-Charles' arrest came six weeks after he was placed on the Marshal's 15 Most-Wanted List.

"There was a lot of family and a lot of associates we believe worked together to conceal him from law enforcement," Ley said.

The news of Pierre-Charles' capture was welcomed in the home of Pieper's parents, Steven and Susan Wood.

"We've been praying and praying and praying for God to answer our prayers," Susan Wood said Tuesday afternoon. "I knew there would be a day; he couldn't go on forever. I'll tell you one thing, I feel a lot safer."

Veluz's older sister, Rachel, broke into tears when she heard.

"I'm very happy they caught them," she said.

Pierre-Charles, 20, of Wesley Chapel, remains in the Brevard County Jail, charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He'll be brought to Pasco County shortly, although the sheriff's office wouldn't say exactly when.

His capture closes the book on the lengthy investigation into the deaths of Pieper and Veluz, Wesley Chapel High students found dead in Trilby on July 28, 2006. Pieper, 17, and Veluz, 18, were found side-by-side and face-down in a field near Harris Hill Road.

Both were shot in the back multiple times in what authorities have called drug-related killings.

The case remained unsolved until July, when warrants were issued for Pierre-Charles and co-defendant Tyree Jenkins. Jenkins, 22, was arrested within hours.

But Pierre-Charles stayed out of sight for months. Pasco County authorities last saw him in May, when he ran away from a deputy during a traffic stop.

During the stop, the deputy learned Pierre-Charles was wanted on burglary and aggravated assault charges out of Polk County. At first, Pierre-Charles seemed to cooperate and was placed in the back of the deputy's patrol car.

Then he forced his way out of the car. The deputy shot him with a stun gun, but Pierre-Charles escaped after the electrical shocks ceased. U.S. Marshals joined the search for him in August.

Ley said marshals pressured friends and family members of Pierre-Charles to provide information on his whereabouts. Some were arrested on unrelated charges during the investigation; others agreed to help voluntarily, Ley said. Some could still be charged for helping Pierre-Charles avoid capture.

White said Pierre-Charles' parents never told investigators where their son was, if they even knew.

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (727) 815-1084.

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