In the early days of 2022, the life of a young boy from New Orleans was tragically cut short. Twelve-year-old Derrick Michael Cash was found on the morning of Monday, January 3, 2022, on a desolate stretch of Michoud Boulevard. A worker in the area discovered the boy on the ground, struggling for breath, having been shot in the head and body and left for dead. He was a student at Thurgood Marshall Success Prep.
His family remembered him as a child who loved his family and enjoyed playing basketball.
The investigation into the young male's death quickly revealed a connection to a string of recent crimes. Derrick was found lying next to a black Jeep Cherokee with Texas license plates. This vehicle had been reported stolen two days prior, on Saturday morning, from the valet at the Pontchartrain Hotel. Investigators learned that the stolen Jeep was subsequently used in another vehicle theft from the same hotel the following day and was also involved in a carjacking on City Park Avenue later that Sunday, where a passenger in the Jeep brandished a gun.
Within weeks, the New Orleans Police Department made significant headway in the case, leading to the apprehension of two suspects. The first, 18-year-old Tyrese Harris, was arrested in connection with a separate brutal carjacking. During questioning, Harris confessed to his involvement in Derrick Cash's death. Evidence found on Harris's cellphone also allegedly implicated him in the crime.
Shortly after Harris's confession, a second suspect, 19-year-old Tyree Conerly, surrendered to authorities at NOPD headquarters. Both Harris and Conerly were booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center, each facing a count of second-degree murder in the death of Derrick Michael Cash. The arrests brought a measure of hope for justice to a grieving family and a community shaken by the violent end of such a young life.
