A dispute that began over a cat-call tragically escalated, leading to the death of 36-year-old Kerwin Conner on March 14, 2018. The incident unfolded in his Kenner, Louisiana neighborhood, a place that would become a scene of violence and loss. It began when Conner and another man were outside and one of them apparently cat-called the girlfriend of Lanard Lavigne.
This seemingly minor event set in motion a fatal confrontation.
Lavigne, who was armed with a pistol, later confronted the two men. In response, Conner ran to his nearby apartment to retrieve his own pistol. Although he returned to the scene armed, prosecutors stated there was no evidence to suggest he threatened Lavigne with the weapon. Much of what transpired was captured by residential security cameras. The situation quickly deteriorated as Conner, despite being armed, fled for his life. Lavigne pursued him, firing a total of 14 bullets as Conner ran 175 yards down the 300 block of Clemson Drive.
Conner sought refuge in his own apartment, where his wife and 9-year-old daughter were inside. As he reached his front door, Lavigne fired four more shots. Projectiles struck Conner in the thighs, severing both of his femoral arteries and causing him to bleed to death. In the aftermath, Conner's pistol was never recovered, leading prosecutors to believe that an unknown individual removed it from the scene, an act constituting felony obstruction of justice.
Following the shooting, the suspect, Lanard Lavigne, fled to Houma, where he was apprehended by a U.S. Marshals fugitive task force in October 2018. Just before his trial began, Lavigne pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for removing his own pistol from the scene. During the trial, his defense attorney argued for an acquittal or a lesser charge of manslaughter, claiming justifiable homicide in self-defense. However, the prosecution successfully argued that Conner was not the aggressor and was fleeing for his life when he was killed. On October 21, 2021, a Jefferson Parish jury found Lanard Lavigne, then 25, guilty of second-degree murder and aggravated criminal damage to property. The second-degree murder conviction carried a mandatory life sentence in prison.
