Orlando Rickmon, a 26-year-old African American male, was fatally shot on the evening of April 23, 2013, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Known affectionately as 'Skateboard Lae,' he was on the porch of a house in the 4000 block of Baudin Street in Mid-City when gunfire erupted shortly before 6 p.m. Rickmon was not the only victim of the violent attack that day; another man, 22-year-old Desmond Bell, was also killed, and an 8-year-old boy, Daymond Harris, who was playing nearby, was seriously wounded by the gunfire.
The shooting on Baudin Street was not the first attempt on Rickmon's life that year. Just two months earlier, in February 2013, he had survived being shot multiple times in the 3300 block of Toledano Street. This earlier attempt on his life was part of a series of violent events that ultimately culminated in his death. Those responsible for the shooting fled the scene in a red Chrysler minivan, leaving a community in mourning and a family devastated by the loss of a beloved son, father, and brother.
The investigation into the murders of Orlando Rickmon and Desmond Bell eventually led to a suspect named Isaac 'Ike' Jones. It was alleged that Jones's actions were in retaliation for the shooting death of his own father. In a significant development in the case, Jones reached a plea deal in March 2018. As part of this agreement, he pleaded guilty to an amended charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder for his role in the fatal shooting of Rickmon.
For his involvement in the incident that claimed the lives of Rickmon and Bell and severely injured a child, Jones was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The plea deal also encompassed charges for the earlier, non-fatal shooting of Rickmon, for which Jones pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder. The resolution of the case brought a measure of closure to a violent saga, though it could not undo the profound loss experienced by the families of the victims.
