Four months after a burst of gunfire left a 21-year-old man dead and two others wounded on a Little Woods street, police arrested three suspects in connection with the killing. Kris Maxwell, Giann Nelson and Samil Smith were booked into the Orleans Justice Center on warrants charging them with second-degree murder in the killing of Corey Williams.
Three Suspects Arrested
NOPD News reported the arrests of Maxwell, Nelson and Smith in connection with Williams's killing.
As WWL-TV reports, police identified the trio as suspects and the investigation remains ongoing. The station notes that NOPD is asking anyone with information to contact homicide detectives at 504-658-6050.
Gunfire Erupted on Sand Street in June
Officers responded around 6:05 p.m. on June 6 to the 7800 block of Sand Street after reports of gunfire. Officers found Williams suffering from gunshot wounds, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other men in their 20s were also shot in the incident and made their way to area emergency rooms in private vehicles rather than by ambulance, per the same NOPD account.
The Orleans Parish Coroner's Office identified Williams, who had been shot to death, the station's report states. The condition and identities of the two surviving victims have not been disclosed, and a motive for the shooting has not been made public.
What a Second-Degree Murder Charge Means
Under Louisiana Revised Statute 14:30.1, a conviction for second-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment at hard labor, with no possibility of parole, probation or suspended sentence. Louisiana judges have no discretion to hand down a lesser sentence once a second-degree murder conviction is secured, which raises the legal stakes for Maxwell, Nelson and Smith as the case moves toward arraignment.
Little Woods Remains a Hot Spot Despite Citywide Drop
The arrests land amid a broader, complicated picture of violence in New Orleans East. Citywide homicides fell to 63 year-to-date as of early October, according to Metropolitan Crime Commission tracking cited by Hoodline, marking one of the city's lowest violent crime totals in decades. Yet Little Woods alone recorded eight homicides over a recent tracking period, the highest total of any neighborhood in New Orleans.
Part of the challenge is geography. The NOPD Seventh District, which covers Little Woods and the rest of New Orleans East from its station on Dwyer Road, spans roughly 133 square miles, making it the largest police district in the city.
Hoodline has tracked the pattern of gun violence in the neighborhood throughout the year, including a nonfatal shooting near Mayo Boulevard and the North Interstate 10 Service Road. Whether prosecutors will present evidence tying the three defendants to broader neighborhood disputes, and whether additional suspects are being sought, remain open questions as the case heads toward future court dates.
