Updated: 5:31 PM CDT Mar 31, 2021
WDSU Digital Team
A man who is accused of killing a New Orleans area realtor during a sale of a bike over the Internet has claimed self-defense in court. Jalen Harvey was in court Wednesday for a preliminary bond hearing where he claimed he acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Joseph Vindel, according to court records. JPSO records show that Harvey claimed in court that Vindel had a gun and that he shot Vindel in self-defense. Harvey is accused of shooting Vindel after he attempted to sell Harvey a dirt bike on Facebook Marketplace. Harvey is also accused of driving Vindel's vehicle and body across the Westbank before abandoning it in the Garden District in New Orleans. The judge continued the hearing for Harvey's bond and found sufficient probable cause to hold him until his next bond hearing on April 6.