Police said Joseph Vindel had been shot while he was sitting in his SUV, and then Harvey allegedly drove the vehicle with the dirt bike on a trailer to New Orleans' Garden District.
A 29-year-old Louisiana man was killed after being fatally shot while trying to sell his dirt bike to someone he met on Facebook Marketplace, officials said.
Joseph Vindel left his New Orleans home around 10 a.m. on Sunday to meet up with someone who said they were interested in buying his $2,800 dirt bike, officials said. That man was identified as 20-year-old Jalen Harvey, who allegedly shot Vindel as he sat in his black Lexus SUV outside Harvey’s apartment complex in Jefferson Parish, Jefferson Parish Joe Lopinto said at a Monday press conference.
Harvey allegedly then drove the Vindel's vehicle with the dirt bike on a trailer to New Orleans' Garden District, police said. Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office Captain Jason Rivarde told People that when Harvey entered Vindel’s car, “the victim was in the front seat and at one point, [Harvey] pushed Vindel in the back seat so he could drive the vehicle properly."
Rivarde said Harvey drove about 20 minutes away before he dumped the car with Vindel inside and drove the dirt bike back to his home, People reported.
When Vindel did not return home, family members filed a missing person report, authorities said.
Investigators said they found the bike outside Harvey’s apartment and the gun he allegedly used to kill Vindel inside his apartment, WWL-TV reported.
Lopinto said during Monday’s press conference that Harvey allegedly admitted to shooting Vindel multiple times and driving his vehicle to the city of New Orleans, where he abandoned the vehicle with Vindel inside.
Harvey was arrested on charges of first-degree murder, armed robbery and obstruction of justice. He is being held on $275,000 bond, according to online inmate records.
Family members are now grieving the loss of Vindel, who was an aspiring realtor, having just completed his real estate license, reports said.
A graduate of Tulane University, Vindel is shown in photos with friends and family and also some recent homes he had listed in his role as a realtor sales associate at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, according to his Facebook. Since the unspeakable tragedy, many have shown an outpouring of support to his family, sending prayers that “justice be served."
“Everyone loved him,” Vindel’s father, Lindsey Vindel, told WWL-TV. "He didn’t deserve this.”
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