In the pre-dawn hours of May 5, 2016, in Harvey, Louisiana, a walk to a convenience store along a drainage canal in the Woodmere subdivision turned deadly for 17-year-old Reginald Black. What began as a seemingly ordinary outing for Reginald, his 15-year-old nephew, and their acquaintance, 18-year-old Ivory 'Duce' Franklin II, ended in a sudden and brutal act of violence that would leave one young man dead and another fighting for his life.
The group was walking single-file along the canal's concrete embankment when the unthinkable happened.
As they walked, Reginald, who was at the front of the line, asked for a light for his cigarette. In that moment, Ivory Franklin, who was walking behind him, pulled out a revolver and fired a single shot into the back of Reginald's head. The suddenness of the act left no time for reaction. After shooting Reginald, Franklin turned his attention to the 15-year-old nephew who had witnessed the horrific event. Franklin began shooting at the terrified teenager, who leaped into the canal's murky water to escape the gunfire. One of the bullets ricocheted off the concrete embankment as the young witness scrambled to the other side. He ran to a nearby home and banged on the door, pleading for help. While the resident did not open the door, they did call 911, and the nephew was able to flag down the first responding Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office deputy and lead them to his uncle's body.
The investigation quickly pointed to Ivory Franklin as the prime suspect. During the subsequent legal proceedings, Franklin maintained his innocence, attempting to shift the blame onto the 15-year-old witness. He claimed the teenager had been playing with the pistol when it accidentally discharged, striking Reginald. However, a Jefferson Parish jury rejected this version of events. In June 2018, Ivory Franklin II was convicted of the second-degree murder of Reginald Black and the attempted second-degree murder of his nephew. He was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence plus an additional 40 years in prison. Although Franklin was later granted a new trial after a Supreme Court ruling regarding non-unanimous jury verdicts, a second trial in March 2023 ended with the same outcome: a unanimous jury found him guilty on both charges, ensuring he would face the consequences of his actions that tragic morning.
