A quiet street in Shreveport, Louisiana, became the scene of a devastating family tragedy on July 20, 2016. LaKendrick Brown, a 25-year-old male, was shot and killed in a violent outburst that also claimed the life of a neighbor, Michael Dillard. The deadly confrontation erupted on Bond Drive, shattering the afternoon calm and leaving a community in shock.
The fatal shots were fired by Jerry Jackson, the 49-year-old stepfather of LaKendrick Brown.
An ongoing family dispute is said to have escalated, leading Jackson to use a. 22 caliber rifle against his stepson and Dillard. Brown was tragically pronounced dead at the scene, while Dillard fought for his life before succumbing to his wounds at a nearby hospital. In the immediate aftermath, law enforcement authorities arrived and took Jerry Jackson into custody, beginning a long road toward justice for the two lives lost.
Following his arrest, Jackson was charged with two counts of second-degree murder. His legal journey involved an initial conviction in 2019 for the deaths of both his stepson and his neighbor. However, this verdict was delivered by a non-unanimous jury. A subsequent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2020, which mandated unanimous jury verdicts in serious criminal cases, led to the overturning of his conviction and the granting of a new trial.
In the subsequent retrial, a jury unanimously found Jerry Jackson guilty of the second-degree murder of Michael Dillard and of manslaughter in the death of LaKendrick Brown. For these crimes, the court imposed a severe sentence: a mandatory life term in prison for the murder, to be served in addition to a 40-year sentence for manslaughter. The investigation had revealed that after the shooting, Jackson attempted to hide the murder weapon by giving it to a friend, who then cooperated with the police. The rifle was recovered and forensically matched to the shell casings found at the scene of the crime. The prosecution's case was further strengthened by the testimony of Jackson’s then-wife and another neighbor, who both witnessed the tragic events unfold.
