On May 20, 2018, Arvion Finley, a 20-year-old Black man, was killed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in a shooting that unfolded in broad daylight near Gus Young Avenue. Police said the gunfire erupted around 3 p.m. in a car wash parking lot near an elementary school, close enough that the normal sounds of a neighborhood afternoon were suddenly swallowed by chaos. By the time officers arrived, Finley had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The setting made the violence feel even more jarring: reports described the killing happening across the street from a community center where people had gathered for a child’s birthday celebration, while detectives worked nearby and neighbors looked on. Officials also said there was no indication the shooting was connected to other deadly incidents that occurred in Baton Rouge that same day, even as the city grappled with a rapid succession of killings over just a few hours.
Later that day, authorities moved quickly on a suspect. Public reports identified Robert Harrell, 40, as the man arrested in connection with Finley’s death. Harrell was reported to have been charged with second-degree murder, along with illegal use of a firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Available public reporting from that period centers on Harrell as the charged suspect; additional detailed reporting about later court proceedings or a final disposition was not found in the accessible sources reviewed.
