On the festive night of Mardi Gras, March 4, 2014, the revelry in New Orleans was tragically interrupted by an act of violence that claimed the life of 25-year-old Deron Rashad Hitchens Sr. and another man, 28-year-old Kendrell Fields. The shooting occurred just before midnight in a parking lot near the Port of New Orleans, outside the Mardi Gras World venue where a concert had been taking place.
When police arrived at the scene, they discovered a grim tableau.
Hitchens was found unresponsive inside a silver Toyota, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Nearby, on the ground of the parking lot, lay the body of Fields, who had also been shot multiple times. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene, their lives cut short in a sudden and brutal manner. In the immediate aftermath, investigators stated that they were gathering evidence and did not have a motive for the double homicide, though they did not believe it was a random act.
For years, the case remained without a resolution, a painful open wound for the families of the victims. The passage of time brought no arrests, and the investigation into the deaths of Hitchens and Fields continued. The silence in the case was finally broken in October 2018, when the New Orleans Police Department announced the arrest of a suspect. Thirty-five-year-old Michael Angeletta was taken into custody in connection with the fatal shootings. He was set to be booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center on two counts of second-degree murder, bringing a long-awaited development in the quest for justice for Deron Rashad Hitchens Sr. and Kendrell Fields. However, details regarding the outcome of Angeletta's arrest and any subsequent legal proceedings have not been made publicly available.
