A New Orleans courtroom is hearing a case stemming from a 2018 shooting on General De Gaulle Drive in Algiers. Dermell Lewis and Corey Major are on trial on charges tied to the shooting of Corey Juluke; an earlier trial ended with jurors deadlocked.
A trial over the May 24, 2018, shooting was underway in New Orleans, according to nola.com.
Prosecutors presented evidence of 19 assault-rifle rounds and additional shots from a .40-caliber handgun.
Juluke's Testimony at 2024 Trial: Lewis Wasn't the Shooter
At the 2024 trial, Corey Juluke testified, “I saw who shot me, and it wasn't Dermell Lewis,” according to nola.com's account. Juluke said he had known Lewis for 35 years; both were 7th Ward natives.
Juluke's reluctance to name his alleged shooters became a central issue in the case. Prosecutors attributed his reluctance to his criminal past.
Juluke reportedly said, “If I die, tell my brother Slim shot me,” and escaped the ambush by jumping into another vehicle.
DNA, Surveillance Footage and Swapped Plates
State prosecutors have built their case on DNA evidence, surveillance footage, license plate readers and witness testimony linking Lewis and Major to the shooting. At the earlier trial, prosecutors cited what nola.com described as an astronomical probability that DNA on a green cap left at the scene belonged to Lewis, and presented surveillance footage they said showed Lewis, Major and others loading weapons into a Dodge Ram beforehand.
Prosecutors said swapped dealer plates connected Major to the crime through plates assigned to a Baton Rouge firm. Prosecutors have also said Lewis wore body armor during the attack.
At the earlier trial, Lewis and Major faced charges including attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, obstruction and illegal gun possession; Lewis also faced a body-armor count. A Louisiana statute on the books makes it illegal for people convicted of certain offenses — including a felony crime of violence or specified burglary charges — to possess body armor, according to the Louisiana State Legislature, though the available text does not spell out how that provision bears on Lewis' case.
A Case With Deep Roots and a Deadlocked Past
Both Juluke and Lewis reportedly spent years in federal prison and had histories as high-volume drug dealers in downtown New Orleans, according to nola.com's reporting. The Attorney General Liz Murrill's office took over prosecuting the case after the Orleans Parish district attorney's office recused itself; current District Attorney Jason Williams had represented Major as a defense attorney before taking office in 2021.
Gregory Carter represented Lewis at the 2024 trial.
The first trial, held in 2024, ended after six days of testimony when jurors deliberated for roughly two hours before deadlocking on every charge against both men, resulting in a mistrial. That trial also produced a striking courtroom moment: after Juluke testified, he and Lewis exchanged a firm embrace at the defense table in front of the jury, according to ourcommunitynow.com. Following that mistrial, a prosecutor for Murrill's office, Lester Duhe, said simply, “We will retry the case.”
The 2018 shooting was not the first time Lewis and Major's names were linked to gunfire in the same stretch of Algiers. A report from theadvocate.com reported that a gun battle at Gen. de Gaulle and Kabel drives on May 24, 2018, led to a 10-count indictment naming Lewis, Major and Gerald Parker. The case has involved forensic evidence, conflicting loyalties and a victim who testified that Lewis did not shoot him.
