In the early evening of May 19, 2021, the life of Robert Hebert, a 43-year-old Black man from Lafayette, Louisiana, was tragically cut short. Known affectionately as 'Mr. Little Big Man,' Hebert was a cherished son, father, and brother who found joy in music, spending time with his family, and the simple pleasures of life like playing chess and visiting the casino. His sudden death was a profound loss to his extensive circle of family and friends.
The incident that claimed Hebert's life unfolded in the 1800 block of East Simcoe Street. Lafayette Police were called to the scene around 6:40 p.m. following reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, they discovered that an argument had escalated to violence, resulting in gunfire. Hebert was found with fatal injuries, and another individual at the scene had sustained non-life-threatening gunshot wounds and was subsequently transported to a local hospital.
The investigation into the homicide led authorities to identify 28-year-old Nakeea Senegal as the suspect. In a decisive turn of events, Senegal peacefully surrendered to law enforcement at his apartment on Eraste Landry Road. His arrest brought a measure of progress to a case that was part of a troubling surge in homicides within Lafayette Parish that year, which saw a total of 32 such deaths. While arrests were made in a majority of these cases, the resolution in Hebert's case brought a specific sense of closure to his bereaved family.
In May of 2025, the legal proceedings against Nakeea Senegal reached their conclusion. He chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge of conspiracy to commit second-degree murder in connection with Robert Hebert's death. Following his plea, Senegal was sentenced to 30 years of hard labor, with all but 12 years of the sentence suspended.
