In the summer of 2017, the life of 19-year-old Leroy Simms III was cut short by gunfire in Hammond, Louisiana. On the night of July 31st, deputies from the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office were called to Bruce Allen Lane, where they discovered Simms suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators quickly began to unravel the events that led to the young man's death, with the belief that illegal drug activity was a motive.
Their investigation led them to identify 38-year-old Stephen Antonio Brown as the primary suspect in the murder. A week after the shooting, on August 7, Brown turned himself in to the authorities.
The investigation did not end with Brown's surrender. Detectives continued to dig deeper into the circumstances surrounding Simms' death, which led them to identify two additional suspects: 22-year-old Edward Earl Marshall III and 22-year-old Deandre Wheeler. Authorities reported that both Marshall and Wheeler were uncooperative with the investigation and had actively tried to tamper with and hide physical evidence.
The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office issued warrants for Marshall and Wheeler on charges of accessory to second-degree murder and principal to second-degree murder. The Sheriff's Office also made a public plea for information regarding their whereabouts, noting that individuals they had interviewed seemed to possess knowledge but were fearful of coming forward. They urged the community to help bring justice for the untimely death of Leroy Simms III, cautioning that the two wanted men should be considered armed and were often under the influence of controlled dangerous substances.
