On June 14, 2017, District Attorney Ricky Babin, members of the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office, and family members of a 1986 homicide victim were present at the Louisiana Department of Corrections Headquarters in Baton Rouge for a clemency hearing requested by defendant Jerome Derricks, now 51 years of age, of Gonzales. Derricks, who was originally charged with the 1st Degree Murder of 33 year old Beverly Nason of Gonzales, pled guilty to 2nd Degree Murder on May 22, 1986. Judge A.J. Kling ordered that Derricks be committed to the Louisiana Department of Corrections for a term of life, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. This all stems after the brutal beating of Beverly Nason in the parking lot of an Ascension Parish business.
On January 26, 1986, an Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Deputy located an abandoned car on LA 30 West of Interstate-10. Upon approaching the vehicle, the deputy observed what appeared to be blood on the interior and exterior of the vehicle. Through the course of an extensive investigation conducted by the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office and Gonzales Police Department, detectives were able to determine that the vehicle belonged to Beverly Nason. While canvasing the area, detectives searched around a nearby Waffle House located approximately ¼ of a mile from where the vehicle was located. While in the parking lot, detectives located what appeared to be the original crime scene after observing a large amount of blood on the concrete. Detectives made contact with family members of Beverly Nason, who had not been seen since earlier on the night before her vehicle was discovered. Detectives showed Waffle House employees a photograph of Nason. Employees advised that Nason was in fact at the Waffle House earlier that morning. After conducting several interviews, detectives identified Jerome Derricks as a potential suspect. During an interview with Derricks, he advised detectives that he was sitting in his car in the Waffle House parking lot, when a young lady who was having car trouble approached him and asked for his assistance. Derricks told detectives that he then exited his vehicle, assisted the young lady, later identified as Nason, and began beating her with a tire tool. Derricks advised that he then placed her body in her vehicle and drove her to the area of Alligator Bayou where he dumped her body. Nason’s body was subsequently located in a wooded area along Alligator Bayou.
After hearing testimony from District Attorney Ricky Babin, Captain Craig Beaman of the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office, and family members of both Nason and Derricks, members of the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Parole unanimously voted to deny Jerome Derricks’ request for early parole. Derricks remains incarcerated in the Louisiana State Penitentiary.