In the afternoon hours of January 9, 2022, a tragic event unfolded in the parking lot of the Save More Market on Lobdell Avenue in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, forever altering the lives of two families. On that day, 14-year-old Dion Lee Williams, a male student at Park Forest Middle School, was shot multiple times. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
His mother later described him as an honor student and a talented basketball player, left wondering why anyone would harm her son.
The investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to 35-year-old Cleveland Ely. According to police, Ely's motive was a belief that Williams had been bullying a younger relative. In what was described as an act of taking matters into his own hands, Ely confronted the teenager. He later admitted to authorities that he used an AK-47 to shoot Williams. Although Ely claimed that the teenager was also armed, surveillance footage from the scene contradicted his account, showing that Williams did not have a weapon. The investigation also revealed that Ely fired at three other people in the vicinity before fleeing and giving the weapon to a friend.
Cleveland Ely was arrested and initially faced serious charges, including first-degree murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder, and illegal use of a weapon. A conviction on the murder charge alone could have resulted in a life sentence. However, the case did not go to a full trial. Instead, Ely reached a plea agreement with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of attempted manslaughter.
As a result of the plea deal, Cleveland Ely was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with 12 of those years suspended. This left him with an eight-year term of actual imprisonment. He was also convicted of illegal use of a weapon and obstruction of justice for his actions following the shooting. In a remarkable turn, it was reported that the family of Dion Williams had chosen to forgive Ely for his actions. The violent death of the young teenager was connected to another shooting that same day; his mother stated that Dion had been in a car with 18-year-old Shawn George II at the time of the shooting, and George was found shot to death less than two hours later in a different location.
