A burst of gunfire shattered the late afternoon quiet in a New Orleans neighborhood on July 15, 2019, leaving a scene of chaos and tragedy. When the echoes of the shots faded, 29-year-old Lemant Stewart Jr., a male, lay dead, a victim of the violence that erupted in the 6900 block of Martin Drive. The incident, which unfolded around 4:37 p.m., resulted in a quadruple shooting, forever altering the lives of those involved.
Responding to a call of an aggravated battery by shooting,
officers from the New Orleans Police Department arrived to find a grim scenario. Three individuals were suffering from gunshot wounds. While two of the victims were rushed to a nearby hospital for medical attention, Lemant Stewart Jr.'s injuries proved fatal, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Orleans Parish Coroner's Office later officially confirmed his identity.
As investigators began to piece together the events of that violent afternoon, a fourth person connected to the shooting emerged. This individual, identified as Donald Patton Jr., had also sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was transported to a hospital by a private vehicle. The police investigation soon pointed to Patton as the alleged perpetrator in the shootings of the two individuals who survived, as well as in the death of Lemant Stewart Jr.
Following his treatment and release from the hospital, Donald Patton Jr. was taken into custody by the NOPD on July 18, 2019. He was booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center on initial charges of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated assault with a firearm. As the investigation progressed and evidence mounted, the charges against Patton were upgraded to include the second-degree murder of Lemant Stewart Jr.
