Harvey man convicted of killing area real estate agent

By WDSU Staff

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    HARVEY, Louisiana (WDSU) — A man accused of killing an area realtor was found guilty of murder Thursday night.

A Jefferson Parish jury found Jalen Harvey guilty in the killing of Joseph Vindel.

Vindel was trying to sell a dirt bike on Facebook Marketplace when he was shot.

The 29-year-old real estate agent was shot five or six times while sitting in the driver’s seat of his sports utility vehicle outside a West Bank apartment complex in March of 2021.

The district attorney said Vindel advertised his dirt bike’s sale through the OfferUp marketplace app.

Harvey, who used a fake name and phone number on the app, responded to the advertisement with plans to use movie prop cash, or “play money,” to purchase the motorcycle while armed with a semiautomatic pistol, according to a news release issued by the district attorney.

Vindel towed the dirt bike on a trailer from his Uptown home to the West Bank.

Through text messages, Harvey gave Vindel several meeting locations before directing him to the 2100 block of Manhattan Boulevard.

Court records show Vindel was first shot on the right side of his face. Harvey continued shooting, striking Vindel in the back of his right shoulder, neck and the back of his head.

Vindel also was shot in the left hand, according to investigators.

His wounds were consistent with his being shot in the face and then turning away defensively as Harvey continued shooting him through the front passenger’s side window, according to expert testimony.

The district attorney said Vindel brought his pistol with him to make the transaction, but a round was never chambered, and that he was not prepared to fire it.

A statement from the district attorney said Harvey accused Vindel of pointing a pistol at him and that Vindel held it in his left hand.

The district attorney said this was not possible due to the gunshot injury to Vindel’s left hand.

Investigators said evidence showed Vindel’s heart was still pumping when Harvey dragged the body between the front seats to the back seat floorboard.

Harvey drove around the city in Vindel’s SUV for more than an hour, according to the district attorney.

Harvey admitted in testimony that he doused Vindel’s body with gasoline in an attempt to kill DNA.

After leaving the body and SUV in the 2300 block of Coliseum Street in the Garden District, Harvey then drove Vindel’s dirt bike back to his West Bank apartment, according to the district attorney.

Vindel’s body was found the next morning.

Court records show Harvey was found through his communications with Vindel on the Facebook marketplace app.

Investigators also found Vindel’s motorcycle at Harvey’s apartment.

In addition to first-degree murder, the district attorney said Harvey was convicted of obstruction of justice and monetary instrument abuse.

The obstruction charge stems from his eliminating evidence to hinder the investigation, including driving Vindel’s body to the Garden District. Vindel’s wallet and cell phone were never found, according to the district attorney.

The monetary instrument abuse charge stemmed from Harvey’s use of the movie prop money. Detectives said they also found more than 175 fake $100 bills in his apartment.

A unanimous verdict was returned by the jury Thursday night after 9 p.m.

Harvey will be sentenced on Oct. 6, and he faces a mandatory life sentence in prison.

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