In the early evening of December 4, 2017, the sound of gunfire shattered the quiet of the 7800 block of South Coronet Court in New Orleans. Responding to a call of shots fired, Seventh District officers arrived to find a grim scene. An unresponsive Black male, later identified as 30-year-old VaShawn Tate, was discovered lying in a driveway. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his head and forearm.
Emergency services transported Tate to a local hospital in a desperate attempt to
save his life. For thirteen days, he fought for survival, but his injuries proved too severe. On December 17, 2017, VaShawn Tate succumbed to his wounds, and the case was reclassified from an aggravated battery by shooting to a homicide, prompting an intensive investigation by the New Orleans Police Department's Homicide detectives.
The investigation into Tate's death led detectives to identify a suspect in the fatal shooting. On January 5, 2018, members of the NOPD's Violent Offenders Warrant Squad, in collaboration with the U.S. Marshals, apprehended David Hester. Following his arrest, Hester was booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center on multiple charges, including second-degree murder, simple criminal damage to property, illegal use of a weapon, and possession of a firearm by a person with a prior conviction for domestic abuse battery. Hester also faced outstanding warrants for simple battery domestic, simple criminal damage to property, and violations of protective orders related to a separate incident.
