Two students from Monroe were arrested Tuesday at Grambling State University during the investigation of a Ouachita Parish attempted murder and drugs on campus.
Erin D. Deburr, 18, was taken into custody on campus by the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office Tuesday morning on a warrant held by the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office for attempted second degree murder.
Later in the day, a search warrant was executed at a dorm room at Wheatley Hall at GSU. While waiting for the search warrant to arrive at the dormitory, officers of the Lincoln Parish Narcotics Enforcement Team detained Valdez D. Rogers, Jr., 18. when he stepped out of the room. When the search warrant arrived, Rogers’s backpack was opened, revealing suspected marijuana packaged in various weights along with two sets of digital scales.
Upon questioning, Rogers said he learned DeBurr, his roommate, had been arrested. He said he saw the backpack hanging on a doorknob outside DeBurr’s closet and made the decision to remove it from the room and attempt to discard it. When asked why he did that, Rogers said he knew law enforcement would be coming to the room next.
Rogers was booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center for criminal conspiracy, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of a controlled substance in a drug-free zone, and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bail amount was not available at press time.
DeBurr’s arrest stems from a July drive-by shooting at the Delta Mini Mart on Old Sterlington Road in Monroe. During the investigation, Ouachita Parish detectives learned the victim was visiting with friends when he was shot in his right shoulder from a moving car.
Information from witnesses and other investigative steps led to the identification of one of the suspects as “Big E,” who authorities determined was Deburr. Authorities later viewed a music video on YouTube and observed Deburr brandishing a firearm as he sang vague references to shootings.
After Deburr was positively identified by witnesses in a photo lineup, Ouachita Parish authorities obtained an arrest warrant and asked the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office to attempt to take him into custody at GSU.
DeBurr was transferred to the Ouachita Correctional Center after being booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.