Demone Robinson, a 24-year-old male, was fatally shot on June 27, 2014, in the 1000 block of Inca Drive in Harvey, Louisiana. The incident unfolded as a planned robbery that escalated into a homicide. Robinson was lured to the location under the pretext of a Xanax transaction arranged via text messages with a woman he knew, 25-year-old Markeisha Lewis.
Lewis had orchestrated the plan to rob Robinson of his pistol and the Xanax pills.
Lewis enlisted the help of two teenagers, 17-year-old Raynell Whittaker and 16-year-old Everis Hilton, to carry out the robbery. During the arranged meeting between Robinson, Lewis, and Whittaker, Lewis gave a verbal signal, 'We about to get crunk,' for Hilton to commence the robbery. Hilton, who was armed, then emerged and shot Robinson multiple times. After the shooting, Hilton took Robinson's pistol. He later claimed to an accomplice that he shot Robinson because he believed Robinson was reaching for his own weapon. Demone Robinson died at the scene.
Following the murder, Markeisha Lewis attempted to cover up her involvement by deleting incriminating text messages from her phone and removing the firearms connected to the crime. However, an investigation led to the identification and arrest of all three individuals. In June 2016, Raynell Whittaker, then 19, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and received a 30-year prison sentence. The gunman, Everis Hilton, 18 at the time of his plea in July 2016, also pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. In August 2016, Markeisha Lewis pleaded guilty to manslaughter, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison for her role in orchestrating the fatal robbery. At the time of their sentencing for the murder of Demone Robinson, Hilton and Whittaker were already serving 10-year sentences for an armed robbery they had committed just days before the homicide.
