In the fall of 2018, the life of 18-year-old Joseph Aggison was cut short by a burst of gunfire in Opelousas, Louisiana. On the evening of Saturday, October 20th, Aggison was in the 700 block of Pulford Street when a vehicle approached. Shots rang out from the car, striking Aggison in what would later be described by authorities as a drive-by shooting. The young man, a student at Opelousas Senior High School, was critically injured and died shortly after the attack.
This was not the first time violence had visited his home; nineteen months prior, the residence had been riddled with 25 bullets, an event that left the family feeling blessed to have survived.
The Opelousas Police Department launched an investigation into the homicide, a search for justice that would soon lead to arrests. Within days, investigators identified and apprehended two suspects in connection with the fatal shooting. Keyon R. Prudhomme, 19, and Kenderick R. Bias, 18, were taken into custody and each faced a charge of first-degree murder for their alleged roles in Aggison's death. In addition to the murder charges, both men were also charged with attempted first-degree murder, suggesting there were other individuals in the line of fire during the incident.
The arrests brought a sense of progress to a community shaken by the violent loss of a young life. Prudhomme and Bias were booked into the St. Landry Parish Jail as the legal process against them commenced. The swift action by law enforcement aimed to hold accountable those believed to be responsible for the death of Joseph Aggison, a teenager whose life ended abruptly on a street he called home.
