Courtesy photo
David Hampton Ledet, 37, leaves behind a 2-year-old daughter. Ledet got entangled in an altercation at his mother's condominium when he asked a neighbor to quiet down so as not to awaken her. The neighbor eventually shot Ledet and then killed himself.
Michael A. Normand was known to his neighbors as a recluse, a man who kept to himself. The 64-year-old welder would sit on his balcony and watch his neighbors' activities, frequently making complaints to the management office. Except for one neighbor, no friends or family stopped by to visit, according to one person who lived across from him.
But early Friday, residents became aware of the ferocity of the man they hardly knew, even though he had lived at the Bayou Woods Condominiums at 7575 Katy Freeway for 25 years.
Normand, angry and screaming about an illegally parked vehicle, shot and killed a neighbor who had asked him to quiet down so the neighbor's 2-year-old daughter would not be awakened, Houston Police Department homicide investigators said.
After killing U.S. Navy veteran and oil drilling consultant David Hampton Ledet, 37, Normand then sat on the hood of his 1977 Oldsmobile and killed himself by firing a bullet under his chin, neighbors said.
Ledet's mother, who lives at the condominium complex, said she is angry that no one warned her or her son about Normand's instability.
“I'm very angry nobody told us this man was volatile,” said Donna Sue Ledet, who moved into the condominiums last December and vows she will now move out. “It makes me angry that this man was a time bomb ticking away, and all our neighbors knew it.”
Managers at the condominiums' office said they were not allowed to comment Monday and said they would pass a request for comment along to the complex's board of directors, who did not respond to the Chronicle.
The scene in parking lot
David Ledet, a Houston native who traveled all over the world for his work, had just arrived home from Thailand on June 1, along with his 2-year-old daughter, his mother said. He and his daughter were staying at his mother's condominium, and he planned to depart for a job in Holland in September.
Shortly before 5 a.m. Friday, as Ledet was doing graphics artwork on the computer while his mother and daughter slept, he heard yelling in the parking lot and went outside to investigate. Normand had been leaving for work but began yelling and screaming when he noticed another man's roofing truck parked illegally, parallel to one of the buildings. The truck was not blocking his parking space, HPD homicide investigators said. But the truck's driver argued with Normand, neighbors said.
“It was believed by witnesses that he could have backed out around it,” said HPD Homicide Division Sgt. N.T. Ruland.
An unarmed security guard approached Normand, and Ledet came outside and asked Normand to keep his voice down so as not to awaken Ledet's 2-year-old daughter. Another neighbor, Christina Pavlovich, 42, also came outside to intervene and tried to calm Normand. As the fight escalated, the security guard went to call 911, Ruland said.
Normand then threatened to go get a gun, returned to his condo to retrieve a revolver, tucked the gun in his pants, then returned to the parking lot, Pavlovich said.
“As he was coming down the stairwell, I said, ‘Michael, Michael, what are you doing?'” Pavlovich said. “He said, ‘Mind your own business!' It was the first time he had ever spoken to me like that.”
Physical altercation
When Normand reached the parking lot, Pavlovich said she saw Ledet slam his fists on the trunk of Normand's car. As Normand moved closer to him, Ledet then shoved Normand, causing him to flip over the trunk of his car, Pavlovich said.
Normand then shot Ledet one time. Pavlovich was standing so close that the gunpowder burned her knuckles, she said. She started to run, but looked back to see Normand shoot Ledet several more times while Ledet was down on the ground.
Pavlovich said when she came back moments later, she saw Normand calmly leaning against his car. He had removed the clip from his gun, she said.
“He said ‘I'm fine, I'm fine. But he's dead, he's dead,'” Pavlovich recalled.
“I said, ‘I'm so sorry, Michael.' He said, ‘Christina, you need to go to your condo. You need to go back inside.'”
Pavlovich said she turned to go and, from the corner of her eye, she saw Normand pick up the gun and put the clip back inside. She then heard a boom.
source-Houston Chronicle
