On the evening of September 29, 2021, the life of 18-year-old Tacolby Burton, a Black male, was cut short by gunfire in Slidell, Louisiana. The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office responded to reports of a shooting at the Canterbury House Apartments located at 301 Spartan Drive. Upon arrival, deputies discovered Burton deceased along the back fence line of the apartment complex, having sustained several gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the homicide continued for over two years.
In the course of their inquiries, law enforcement identified a suspect and issued a warrant for his arrest. The search for the person of interest culminated on the evening of Saturday, February 10, 2024. A patrol deputy with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office conducted a routine traffic stop on a silver Honda Accord due to the vehicle having non-functioning taillights. The traffic stop occurred on Bayou Liberty Road near Slidell.
During the stop, the deputy identified the driver as 23-year-old Tyrese Batiste. A background check revealed that Batiste was wanted by the Slidell Police Department on an active warrant for the first-degree murder of Tacolby Burton. Batiste was taken into custody without incident and booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center as a fugitive. The investigation remains ongoing, and further details regarding the court proceedings, including any trial or conviction, have not yet been made public.
