Fraud suspects arrested
Pair also investigated in girl’s death
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Two people police say are possible suspects in the 2006 death of a toddler were arrested Wednesday in a string of arsons and frauds.
Cedric, 28, and Shelna Jackson Matamoros, 32, were booked into Parish Prison on three counts of insurance fraud, eight counts of aggravated arson, one count of simple arson, six counts of theft by fraud, one count of worker’s compensation fraud and three counts of arson with intent to defraud.
Between May 2005 and July 2006, the married couple set fire to an apartment and two vehicles, filed a false worker’s compensation claim about an alleged injury Cedric Matamoros received while working for a cement company and filed five other false insurance claims, said Lt. Doug Cain, a Louisiana State Police spokesman.
Cedric and Shelna Matamoros, 3700 E. Brookstown Drive, Apt. 238, also are possible suspects in the death of 2-year-old Malyasia Chanté Matamoros, said Cpl. L’Jean McKneely, a Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman.
Malyasia died of asphyxiation Aug. 31, 2006, after being attacked at her Brandywine Apartments home a day earlier, police have said.
Cedric Matamoros had said someone broke into the house he shared with Shelna Matamoros, who is not the mother of Malyasia, the night his daughter died. He said he fired a 9 mm handgun at the intruder.
“I did what any father would do; I protected my family,” he told reporters a day after Malyasia died.
Police officers investigating the case contacted State Police for help regarding questions related to life insurance policies held by Cedric Matamoros, Cain said.
During the nearly two-year joint investigation, detectives found that Cedric and Shelna Matamoros “systematically engaged in a pattern of fraud, criminal deception and arson for the sole purpose of defrauding insurance companies of money and benefits they were not entitled to receive,” Cain said.
The couple set fire to an apartment on Robby Avenue in May 2005, he said. The fire could have injured a family of eight living next door.
The Matamoros’ set a Ford Explorer on fire in January 2006, claiming the vehicle was stolen, Cain said. They set a second vehicle, a Ford Expedition, on fire in July 2006. The Expedition was found near Brandywine Apartments at 10950 Darryl Drive, where the couple was living at the time.
Also in July 2006, Cedric Matamoros crashed a truck he was driving for a cement company and filed a false worker’s compensation claim, Cain said. That claim and at least five others filed with insurance companies were worth $110,000, he said.
“In the course of their illegal activities, which spanned over four years, the pair endangered the lives and property of several innocent victims,” Cain said, adding that detectives are continuing to investigate the couple in other irregular insurance activities, some of which pertain to life insurance.
Cedric, 28, and Shelna Jackson Matamoros, 32, were booked into Parish Prison on three counts of insurance fraud, eight counts of aggravated arson, one count of simple arson, six counts of theft by fraud, one count of worker’s compensation fraud and three counts of arson with intent to defraud.
Between May 2005 and July 2006, the married couple set fire to an apartment and two vehicles, filed a false worker’s compensation claim about an alleged injury Cedric Matamoros received while working for a cement company and filed five other false insurance claims, said Lt. Doug Cain, a Louisiana State Police spokesman.
Cedric and Shelna Matamoros, 3700 E. Brookstown Drive, Apt. 238, also are possible suspects in the death of 2-year-old Malyasia Chanté Matamoros, said Cpl. L’Jean McKneely, a Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman.
Malyasia died of asphyxiation Aug. 31, 2006, after being attacked at her Brandywine Apartments home a day earlier, police have said.
Cedric Matamoros had said someone broke into the house he shared with Shelna Matamoros, who is not the mother of Malyasia, the night his daughter died. He said he fired a 9 mm handgun at the intruder.
“I did what any father would do; I protected my family,” he told reporters a day after Malyasia died.
Police officers investigating the case contacted State Police for help regarding questions related to life insurance policies held by Cedric Matamoros, Cain said.
During the nearly two-year joint investigation, detectives found that Cedric and Shelna Matamoros “systematically engaged in a pattern of fraud, criminal deception and arson for the sole purpose of defrauding insurance companies of money and benefits they were not entitled to receive,” Cain said.
The couple set fire to an apartment on Robby Avenue in May 2005, he said. The fire could have injured a family of eight living next door.
The Matamoros’ set a Ford Explorer on fire in January 2006, claiming the vehicle was stolen, Cain said. They set a second vehicle, a Ford Expedition, on fire in July 2006. The Expedition was found near Brandywine Apartments at 10950 Darryl Drive, where the couple was living at the time.
Also in July 2006, Cedric Matamoros crashed a truck he was driving for a cement company and filed a false worker’s compensation claim, Cain said. That claim and at least five others filed with insurance companies were worth $110,000, he said.
“In the course of their illegal activities, which spanned over four years, the pair endangered the lives and property of several innocent victims,” Cain said, adding that detectives are continuing to investigate the couple in other irregular insurance activities, some of which pertain to life insurance.
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