Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a Reserve man accused of killing the proprietor of a LaPlace feed store during a robbery and wounding his wife. They made the announcement Wednesday afternoon as the alleged gunman, Charles McQuarter III, pleaded not guilty during a brief court appearance before state District Judge Sterling Snowdy.

A grand jury charged McQuarter, 22, with first-degree murder of Steven Finckbeiner, 63, and attempted first-degree murder of Connie Finckbeiner, 58. A second suspect, Dracier Dewey, 22, of Reserve, was charged with being a principal to second-degree murder and a principal to attempted first-degree murder. Dewey also pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Connie Finckbeiner and other relatives were in court for the hearing. They would not comment afterward.

District Attorney Tom Daley has said he presented the lesser charge of second-degree murder for Dewey to the grand jury because Dewey was not the shooter.

It’s the second case in two years in which Daley has sought the death penalty. He’s also requesting it for two defendants accused of killing two sheriff’s deputies in 2012.

Sheriff’s Office investigators said the Finckbeiners were alone in their store on Sleepy Redwood Drive when the robbery occurred Feb. 25 at mid-afternoon. Authorities say McQuarter shot the couple and took a cash register, which contained an undetermined amount of money.

Steven Finckbeiner died at the scene. His wife managed to call 911 to report the shooting before she was taken to a hospital.

Shortly after the robbery, authorities say, a surveillance camera at a nearby home recorded two people walking down the street, one carrying the stolen cash register under his arm. Authorities identified the suspects through tips, which led to the arrest two days later of McQuarter and Dracier. Both men lived in the Homewood subdivision.

The man believed to be the triggerman in a shooting at a LaPlace animal feed store that left a man dead and his wife injured turned himself to the U.S. Marshalls Fugitive Task Force at noon Thursday after arranging to do so through his attorney, Sheriff Mike Tregre said.

The move by Charles Mcquarter III, 22, came less than 12 hours after the first suspect did the same thing. Dracier Dewey, 22, surrendered to police early Thursday morning. In his confession, Tregre said Dewey named Mcquarter as the gunman.
He is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, armed robbery and a parole violation. He is being held without bond.

Mcquarter was arrested in 2012 on second-degree murder and weapons charges. It was not immediately clear what came of that arrest since Mcquarter was not in prison.

Store owner Steven Finckbeiner was fatally shot and his wife, Constance, was injured in the robbery. She was treated at a local hospital and by Wednesday evening, one of her sons said she had been released and was recovering.

Dewey was arrested and booked with principal to armed robbery, principal to first-degree murder and principal to attempted first-degree murder. His total bond on the charges is $1.6 million.

Surveillance video showed two men leaving the feed store shortly after the shooting. A man in a red jacket appears first, then the other shows up carrying what looks like a cash register.

The ordeal began when the two entered the Finckbeiner’s feed store to inquire about shots for dogs. The two men were turned away.

“They exited the LaPlace Feed store but returned immediately, which we believe was a ruse or disguise and the plan was to rob the store itself,” Tregre said.