In the early hours of a Tuesday morning in March 2015, a hardworking family man’s life was tragically cut short on a desolate street in New Orleans. Michael Price, a 36-year-old male, was on his shift as a Domino's Pizza delivery driver when he was shot and killed. The incident occurred just before 1 a.m. in the 6100 block of North Roman Street in the Lower Ninth Ward, an area still bearing the scars of Hurricane Katrina with many overgrown lots and damaged homes.
When police arrived, they found Price inside his delivery car with the engine still running.
The initial investigation revealed a puzzling scene. Domino's officials stated that no pizzas had been ordered in the immediate vicinity, and the New Orleans Police Department confirmed that Price was not near his intended delivery destinations. It was later disclosed by a Domino's executive that the motive appeared to be robbery, with the perpetrator or perpetrators taking less than $30. The senselessness of the crime was compounded by the fact that Price had only recently returned to his delivery route after his car had been repaired. In the interim, his dedication to providing for his wife and three young children, aged two to eight, was evident as he took on shifts answering phones at the Franklin Avenue franchise.
Hope for justice in the case emerged when the New Orleans Police Department announced the arrest of a suspect. Michael Portis, who was 24 years old at the time, was taken into custody and subsequently charged with first-degree murder. Investigators believed he acted alone. Court records revealed that Portis had a prior aggravated robbery conviction in Texas and had been arrested in Orleans Parish in 2012 for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
However, the path to justice took an unexpected turn. Despite the initial arrest and charges, the case against Michael Portis in the murder of Michael Price did not proceed to trial. He was later released from jail due to a lack of a timely indictment from the Orleans Parish District Attorney's office. In a separate legal matter, the same Michael Portis was sentenced in 2018 to 120 months of incarceration for his role in a carjacking that took place in April 2016. There is no indication from available online sources that Portis was ever retried for the murder of Michael Price, leaving the case unresolved and his family still waiting for closure.
