In the early hours of August 22, 2021, a burst of violence in a Shreveport, Louisiana, liquor store parking lot cut short the life of 26-year-old Javoria Sherman. The male victim was at King's Liquor Store in the 4300 block of Hilry Huckaby III Drive when gunfire erupted shortly after 1:30 a.m. In the immediate aftermath, Sherman was whisked away from the scene in a private vehicle, a desperate attempt to save him.
The vehicle was later intercepted by Caddo Parish Sheriff's deputies at
the intersection of North Lakeshore and Lorraine Drive. From there, Sherman was rushed to Ochsner LSU Health Hospital, but his injuries proved to be too severe, and he was pronounced dead. Detectives with the Shreveport Police Department's Violent Crimes and Crime Scene Units immediately launched an investigation, processing both the liquor store parking lot and the location where the deputies stopped the vehicle.
Through witness interviews and the collection of evidence, investigators quickly identified a suspect: James Earl Gray Jr. A warrant was secured for Gray's arrest on a charge of second-degree murder. The investigation revealed that Gray had fled to Nacogdoches, Texas. Authorities in that jurisdiction located and apprehended him. He was subsequently held in Texas, awaiting extradition back to Caddo Parish to face the murder charge.
