JEFFERSON PARISH, LA - A former police officer spoke with Fox News Digital, highlighting the inherent dangers of homeless encampments after a triple homicide rocked not only the inhabitants of the camp, but those in surrounding communities.
Mark Powell, a former reserve police officer in San Diego who oversaw the city's Monarch School for Homeless Youth while on the city's school board, said, "These homeless encampments pose a health threat and a safety threat to the general public. It's the duty, it's the obligation of our city leaders, our elected politicians, to do everything they can within the law to eradicate these camps and provide the people living in the camps with the dignity they deserve through some type of shelter program."
On April 3, 2024, 44-year-old Mindy Ann Robert, 33-year-old Marcey Vincent, and 53-year-old Warren Fairley were found dead with multiple gunshot wounds in a makeshift campsite hidden from a brush on a vacant lot in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. According to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, the incident was allegedly spurred by a stolen bicycle.
A December 2024 report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development showed that crime in these camps is a growing concern across the country, which has seen an 18.1 percent increase in homelessness in 2024. In the report, federal officials cited a rising number of asylum seekers, lack of affordable housing, and natural disasters as reasons for the increase in homelessness.
In the Louisiana case, Noel Marine, who was known to visit the victims at the camp site, was arrested and is facing three counts of first-degree murder and obstruction of justice in the deaths of Robert, Vincent, and Fairley. As of this writing, he is being held on a $100,000 bail.
Investigators believe that Vincent and Robert were homeless and lived at the campsit, while Fairley lived in a home nearby. Robert's family assumed that she was living in the area because they recently saw her panhandling at a nearby street corner. During a November 19, 2024 hearing in Jefferson Parish Magistrate Court, Detective Ryan Vaught testified saying, "Periodically, other people would stay [at the campsite] and use narcotics."
A man who was dating one of the female victims allegedly dialed 911 around 9:40 a.m. when he found the three bodies. Marine became the prime suspect after his fingerprints were found on a metal folding chair at the site. His fingerprints were in the national Combined DNA Index System due to previous convictions, including four counts of possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute and other drug charges.
Court records show that he was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in April 2005. At the time of the shooting at the homeless encampment, he was wanted for missing court in a misdemeanor theft case after allegedly stealing from a Walmart in February 2024. Marine claimed that he was staying at a friend's house in Metairie at the time of the shooting, but his alibi was torn open after the friend told detectives that Marine was not there.
Vaught testified that although a gunshot was heard in the area around 1:00 or 2:00 a.m., no one saw the killings take place. However, Marines friend gave a statement to police after he allegedly confessed to the killings. Powell said that the incident is the latest example of why the government has an obligation to regulate homeless encampments.
He said, "In this instance, three people were murdered. That's not to say somebody jogging through the park or jogging near the homeless encampment could also become a victim just as easily as this. It's the duty of the city. If they're going to allow homeless camps like this, it's their duty to make sure that they're cleaned, that they're regulated, that there's some type of law enforcement presence that frequents that homeless camp on a regular basis."
He added, "Not once a month or when they get a call, but they have to have some type of security in there. Otherwise, you're going to end up with more of these incidences where the are rapes, murders, there's assault, there are batteries, there's a theft, there's rampant drug dealing. This is what you'll find in these homeless encampments."
Powell said, "Many people don't even want to jog through the park because they know there's a homeless encampment in there and they're scared. The people who are committing the crimes are the ones who are controlling the property. They're not paying taxes, they're not doing anything yet. But, the people who do pay the taxes who do not commit crimes, they're the one who are impacted."
Mark Powell, a former reserve police officer in San Diego who oversaw the city's Monarch School for Homeless Youth while on the city's school board, said, "These homeless encampments pose a health threat and a safety threat to the general public. It's the duty, it's the obligation of our city leaders, our elected politicians, to do everything they can within the law to eradicate these camps and provide the people living in the camps with the dignity they deserve through some type of shelter program."
On April 3, 2024, 44-year-old Mindy Ann Robert, 33-year-old Marcey Vincent, and 53-year-old Warren Fairley were found dead with multiple gunshot wounds in a makeshift campsite hidden from a brush on a vacant lot in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. According to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, the incident was allegedly spurred by a stolen bicycle.
A December 2024 report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development showed that crime in these camps is a growing concern across the country, which has seen an 18.1 percent increase in homelessness in 2024. In the report, federal officials cited a rising number of asylum seekers, lack of affordable housing, and natural disasters as reasons for the increase in homelessness.
In the Louisiana case, Noel Marine, who was known to visit the victims at the camp site, was arrested and is facing three counts of first-degree murder and obstruction of justice in the deaths of Robert, Vincent, and Fairley. As of this writing, he is being held on a $100,000 bail.
Investigators believe that Vincent and Robert were homeless and lived at the campsit, while Fairley lived in a home nearby. Robert's family assumed that she was living in the area because they recently saw her panhandling at a nearby street corner. During a November 19, 2024 hearing in Jefferson Parish Magistrate Court, Detective Ryan Vaught testified saying, "Periodically, other people would stay [at the campsite] and use narcotics."
A man who was dating one of the female victims allegedly dialed 911 around 9:40 a.m. when he found the three bodies. Marine became the prime suspect after his fingerprints were found on a metal folding chair at the site. His fingerprints were in the national Combined DNA Index System due to previous convictions, including four counts of possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute and other drug charges.
Court records show that he was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in April 2005. At the time of the shooting at the homeless encampment, he was wanted for missing court in a misdemeanor theft case after allegedly stealing from a Walmart in February 2024. Marine claimed that he was staying at a friend's house in Metairie at the time of the shooting, but his alibi was torn open after the friend told detectives that Marine was not there.
Vaught testified that although a gunshot was heard in the area around 1:00 or 2:00 a.m., no one saw the killings take place. However, Marines friend gave a statement to police after he allegedly confessed to the killings. Powell said that the incident is the latest example of why the government has an obligation to regulate homeless encampments.
He said, "In this instance, three people were murdered. That's not to say somebody jogging through the park or jogging near the homeless encampment could also become a victim just as easily as this. It's the duty of the city. If they're going to allow homeless camps like this, it's their duty to make sure that they're cleaned, that they're regulated, that there's some type of law enforcement presence that frequents that homeless camp on a regular basis."
He added, "Not once a month or when they get a call, but they have to have some type of security in there. Otherwise, you're going to end up with more of these incidences where the are rapes, murders, there's assault, there are batteries, there's a theft, there's rampant drug dealing. This is what you'll find in these homeless encampments."
Powell said, "Many people don't even want to jog through the park because they know there's a homeless encampment in there and they're scared. The people who are committing the crimes are the ones who are controlling the property. They're not paying taxes, they're not doing anything yet. But, the people who do pay the taxes who do not commit crimes, they're the one who are impacted."
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