A Chalmette man accused in the 2023 shooting that killed a server outside Mandina’s Restaurant is set to appear in a New Orleans courtroom Monday for a pre-trial hearing, pulling a high-profile Jazz Fest weekend case back into the spotlight as prosecutors and defense lawyers map out what happens next.
Pre-trial hearing details
According to FOX 8, the hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, June 15, 2026. The station reports that Kyron Fazande of Chalmette faces one count of second-degree murder and one count of attempted second-degree murder in connection with the April 2023 shooting.
What happened in 2023
Police say the attack took place on April 28, 2023, outside the Canal Street restaurant during the first weekend of Jazz Fest. As reported by WDSU, 23-year-old server Hilbert Walker III was killed at the scene, and a 54-year-old tourist from Chicago was hit by a stray bullet inside the dining room.
Authorities later arrested Fazande in Houston in May 2023 and extradited him to New Orleans, CBS Chicago reported. The U.S. Marshals' Gulf Coast Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force and the NOPD's Violent Offender Warrant Squad assisted in the arrest, according to that report.
Witnesses told reporters that a car pulled up, two people got out, and gunfire followed, while the restaurant's private security guard returned fire, Eater New Orleans reported. The restaurant temporarily closed in the aftermath as staff and city officials responded to the shooting.
What the charges carry
Under Louisiana law, second-degree murder is defined as the killing of a human being when the offender has a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm, or when a death occurs during certain violent felonies, and the statute provides for life imprisonment at hard labor, according to the Louisiana Revised Statutes. Courts and legal analyses note that attempted second-degree murder requires proof that the defendant took an overt act toward killing someone with the specific intent to do so.
Mandina’s response and community reaction
Mandina’s reopened days after the shooting and released a statement saying, “The loss of our friend and fellow worker Hilbert Walker III has been devastating to our entire restaurant family,” according to Eater New Orleans. The owners said they would connect staff with trauma counseling and credited a security officer for returning fire the night of the attack.
Monday’s pre-trial hearing will take place in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, and media coverage and court records are expected to show whether the session results in new filings or in scheduling a trial date. This story will be updated if the hearing produces additional information or court action.
