In the early morning hours of February 7, 2018, the life of 37-year-old Marlon Dale 'Nino' Brown of Abbeville, Louisiana, was cut short by gunfire. Just after midnight, officers from the Abbeville Police Department were dispatched to the vicinity of Graceland Avenue and Hawthorne Street following reports of shots being fired. Upon their arrival, they discovered Brown near his Hawthorne Street home, suffering from a gunshot wound.
Emergency medical responders attempted to save his life and transported him to a nearby hospital, but he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
The initial investigation into the male victim's death suggested that the person or persons responsible fled the scene in a black Nissan Altima with tinted windows, which was seen heading south on Hawthorne Street after the shooting. Despite their efforts, detectives with the Abbeville Police Department were unable to gather enough evidence to make an immediate arrest, and with no new leads, the case went cold. For more than three years, the investigation languished, leaving Brown's family and community without answers.
A breakthrough in the case finally came in August 2021, when new evidence emerged, leading to a series of arrests. Cody Guidry was taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder in connection with Brown's death. Three other individuals, Travis Cooper, Nikki Hebert, and Tanesha Hills, were also arrested and charged with obstruction of justice. The following month, authorities announced they were searching for another suspect, Jermaine Guidry, who was wanted on charges of principal to second-degree murder and obstruction of justice. Law enforcement officials have not released specific details about the nature of the new evidence that led to these developments.
