LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — Two men have been arrested in Lafayette in connection with the death of 18-year-old Gabriella Sharp, who was found unresponsive at a convenience store on Friday.

Kaden Richard, 18, and Jaiquan Pierre, 19, have been charged with sexual battery and video voyeurism, although police do not believe they caused Sharp’s death.

Corporal Ashley Wood with the Lafayette Police says authorities have no reason to believe the suspects had anything to do with her death.

“At this point there is no reason to believe that they had anything to do with her death,” said Wood.

Sharp was discovered unresponsive at a local convenience store in Lafayette, where officers and paramedics attempted life-saving measures, but were unsuccessful.

Wood explained that Sharp had been downtown in Lafayette with friends when she met Richard and Pierre and later went to their residence.

“While at the residence with her friend and the boys, she experienced some kind of medical issue which led her friend to call her mother, it’s likely they believe she had too much to drink,” said Wood.

Wood says this is when her friends and the suspects met her mother at the RaceTrack, where Sharp was unresponsive, and was later pronounced deceased at the scene.

Sharp’s mother expressed her grief on Facebook saying: “My gorgeous girl I can’t rest in peace I don’t know what to say, I love you forever and will miss you till I’m with you.”

A video circulating on social media led to the charges against Richard and Pierre.

The suspects surrendered to Lafayette Parish authorities on Tuesday and were released on a $15,000 bond. Lafayette Police say they are not investigating Sharp’s death as a homicide as of now.

The investigation into Gabriella Sharp’s death continues as authorities await the results of a toxicology report to determine the exact cause of her death.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KLFY. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KLFY staff before being published.

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