State Police provided an update Monday in the deadly rampage that left a state trooper and a Prairieville woman dead and three other people wounded Saturday. Also on Monday, the suspect was booked into jail.
Matthew Mire, 31, was released from the hospital Monday afternoon and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail. For his trip to jail, he was handcuffed with the cuffs that belonged to Master Trooper Adam Gaubert, one of two people Mire is accused of killing.
In East Baton Rouge, he was booked with attempted first-degree murder of a police officer and aggravated flight from an officer. According to records at the EBR jail, he faces charges in Ascension Parish of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, illegal use of weapons, home invasion and illegal possession of stolen things. In Livingston Parish, he faces two counts attempted first-degree murder, records show.
The Baton Rouge warrant also provides additional details in Gaubert's slaying; it states that surveillance cameras captured the stolen truck driving near the trooper's unit with the headlights off, and then two minutes later driving near the house where he's accused of killing Pamela Adair and critically wounding a man. The warrant says that Mire told officers, referring to Gaubert, "I didn't mean to, but the guy was watching the house."
State Police said Monday that Gaubert was not involved in the case at all, but was likely finishing up some paperwork from a car crash he'd just worked.
Here's a photo from State Police of Mire wearing Gaubert's handcuffs:
All in all, Mire is accused of shooting two people he knew in Livingston Parish, stealing a truck and a .40 caliber handgun there; driving to Ascension Parish and shooting two people there who police believe have a family connection to him. One of them, Pamela Adair, died. A man who was critically wounded is improving and Monday police said he's expected to survive. Police allege that Mire killed Gaubert just before he went to Adair's home. After that shooting, police allege he then drove to the Baton Rouge area, exchanging gunfire with another state trooper on the way, and ditched the truck in a wooded area. After almost 12 hours of searching, and more gunfire, police say they caught and arrested Mire around 10 p.m. Saturday. He was hospitalized with a K-9 bite and a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound to the leg, had surgery and then was released on Monday.
Many have questioned why, if Mire shot and killed Master Trooper Adam Gaubert Saturday morning, Gaubert's body wasn't found until about 5 p.m. Saturday.
Colonel Lamar A. Davis, superintendent of State Police, said Monday it was a "perfect storm" of circumstances, chaos and protocols. After a trooper, who turned on their lights to get Mire to move to the side as he headed to another call, took fire from Mire's vehicle and then began to pursue him, other law enforcement joined the chase, Davis said.
More gunfire was exchanged and then the manhunt began, he said. During those situations, radio silence - except for emergency calls - is generally observed to keep the channels open, he explained. That means troopers don't call in to report they're in service, out of service, etc.
"It's our our protocol for personnel not involved to stay off the radio. Even if Adam was fine, because of protocol in place, he wouldn't have communicated unless it was an emergency," Davis said.
That being said, the delay in finding Gaubert's body is not OK, he added.
"The time between the murder of Master Trooper Gaubert and the time he was found is absolutely unacceptable," Davis said. "The results of this chaotic situation contributed to that. The safety of our troopers, our officers, our personnel is paramount. The type of incident, the nature of the events that occurred, it created a perfect storm by which this happened."
Davis said LSP already is examining protocols and making changes. Those changes include computer-aided dispatch, which the agency already was in the midst of implementing. They also plan to add redudant tracking, "no activity" alerts, enhanced GPS tracking and other methods to ensure something like this never happens again, Davis said.
"We've known we needed to make a change, and we're in the process of making that change to increase technology and improve safety for personnel," Davis said.
The electronic trail, which includes LSP computers and surveillance cameras, indicates Gaubert parked behind a bank in the Dutton Road area at about 12:30 a.m., and made the final entry on his computer a little after 2 a.m. Davis said that, based on Gaubert's activity prior to that, they believe he had parked in order to wrap up his paperwork on a crash. That's not uncommon, Davis said.
Surveillance cameras captured Mire, in the stolen truck with the headlights off, entering the Dutton Road location - near where he is accused of killing Pamela Adair and critically injuring a man - at about 2:30 a.m. Investigators believe that Mire ambushed, and killed, Gaubert just prior to that time, Davis said.
Davis described Gaubert as not only his co-worker but his friend, and had to pause several times during the presser. He said that "losing a friend like Adam puts a hole in your heart."
"There's no worse feeling than to lose a friend, but we're learning from this experience," he said. "My heart goes out to the families of the other victims. The acts committed by this guy are unimaginable. I can't imagine what they're going through, but I feel their pain."
Davis also addressed the questions that have been raised about the delay and other aspects of the case.
"I know the public has lots of questions. I have lots of questions. But I have to allow my personnel to perform their duties. I have to allow them to do their jobs without me bombarding them with a lot of questions," he said. "They're under a lot of pressure, and keep in mind as they proceed in their investigation they're reliving his death, over and over again. And yet they perform those duties anyway. I could not be more proud of them and the work that they do."
Gaubert's body was escorted to a Baton Rouge funeral home Monday afternoon, with law enforcement lining the streets and saluting as the motorcade passed. An impromptu memorial is also growing at the site of his death, with loved ones and strangers alike stopping to pay their respects.
Members of his family told WBRZ that Gaubert was "full of life" and "always up to help somebody." Known by his loved ones as a jokester, the 19-year veteran "had a heart of gold." Gaubert was "always laughing, always had a smile," his cousins remember.
Funeral services will be held for Gaubert this weekend in Baton Rouge. Visitation is set for Friday and Saturday, followed by a funeral mass Saturday.
Visitation on Friday, October 15, from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. - Resthaven Funeral Home, Baton Rouge
Visitation on Saturday, October 16, from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. - St. George Catholic Church, Baton Rouge
Funeral mass on Saturday, October 16, beginning at 11 a.m. - St. George Catholic Church, Baton Rouge
To read more details click here
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