FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Angie Man Sentenced to Life Imprisonment Plus 50 Years For Violent Crime Spree in Bogalusa
August 5, 2024
District Attorney Collin Sims reports that on August 5, 2024, Judge Ellen Creel sentenced 21-year-old Andrew Pernell of Angie after a jury convicted him in June on charges arising out of his 2021 violent crime spree in Bogalusa. At the conclusion of the 5-day trial, the jury found Pernell guilty of Second degree murder, Attempted second degree murder, Conspiracy to commit second degree murder and Assault by drive-by shooting.
Judge Creel sentenced Pernell to life imprisonment at hard labor without parole for the murder of Bogalusa High School senior Aaron Brown who was gunned down as he walked home from school. Judge Creel sentenced Pernell to 50 years in prison at hard labor without parole for the attempted murder of a 13-year-old boy who was shot just after stepping off a school bus on Main Street in Bogalusa. The court ordered both sentences to run consecutive to each other. Additionally, Pernell was sentenced to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy charge and 10 years in prison for the drive-by shooting with those sentences being ordered to run concurrent to the life and 50-year prison terms.
Assistant District Attorneys Tiffany Dover and Elizabeth Authement prosecuted the case, calling more than 27 witnesses to the stand during the trial. The Bogalusa Police Department and the Louisiana State Police jointly investigated these crimes. Lt. Casey Hidalgo headed the investigation for Bogalusa PD and Investigator Stefan Montgomery spearheaded LSP’s investigative efforts.
During the trial, Pernell was seen making obscene gestures toward a juvenile witness present in the courtroom and forming his hand into the shape of a gun when another witness was testifying. Upon hearing the jury’s guilty verdicts read aloud, Pernell responded by laughing.