In the spring of 2014, the life of 31-year-old Brian Keith Chester, a male resident of Hammond, Louisiana, was cut short by a fatal act of violence. On an April evening, what began as a perceived burglary at his Phoenix Square home escalated into a tragedy that would end with his death and lead to the arrest of two young men.
On the night of the incident, a neighbor of Chester’s made a frantic call to the Hammond Police Department, reporting that Chester was at her home with a gunshot
wound. Chester, who lived at 1010 Phoenix Square, had managed to seek help after being shot at his own residence. He informed his neighbor that he had been shot by a Black male during what police initially believed to be a burglary. Emergency medical services were dispatched to the scene, and Chester was quickly transported to North Oaks Hospital. Despite the efforts of medical personnel, he was later pronounced dead, having sustained a gunshot wound from a small-caliber handgun.
The investigation into the death of Brian Keith Chester led Hammond Police to two suspects. Not long after the shooting, authorities arrested 24-year-old William Wilson and 20-year-old John Perry. Wilson was faced with the severe charge of first-degree murder, while Perry was charged with being a principal to first-degree murder. Following their arrests, both men were booked into the Tangipahoa Parish prison in Amite, Louisiana.
Further details regarding the progression of the case through the legal system, including the specifics of the trial, the ultimate conviction or acquittal of William Wilson and John Perry, and any sentences that may have been handed down, are not available in the publicly accessible online records. Similarly, information regarding Brian Keith Chester's ethnicity has not been made public. The narrative of that tragic night and the immediate aftermath remains, but the final chapter of the legal proceedings is not publicly documented.
