In the early morning hours of Friday, August 31, 2018, the life of 21-year-old Ricky Wiltz was tragically cut short in a shooting that unfolded in the 300 block of Lafayette Street. An African American male, Wiltz was discovered with gunshot wounds near the intersection of Lafayette and Sherman Streets. Despite being rushed to a local hospital for medical attention, he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
The Lafayette Police Department swiftly began treating the case as a homicide investigation.
The investigation into Wiltz's death led authorities to identify a suspect in the fatal shooting. Shortly after the incident, 26-year-old Brownswin Thibodeaux of Lafayette turned himself in to law enforcement. Following his surrender, Thibodeaux was arrested on a warrant for second-degree murder and booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center.
The legal process moved forward as a grand jury was presented with the evidence gathered in the case. The grand jury subsequently handed down an indictment for Thibodeaux on the charge of second-degree murder in connection with Ricky Wiltz's death. If convicted of this charge, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. The community was left to mourn the loss of the young man, with family and friends holding a candle-lit vigil to honor his memory.
