In the summer of 1979, a dedicated law enforcement officer, Sergeant John William Bonnell III, a 23-year-old White male, tragically lost his life in the line of duty. On July 10, 1979, while working as part of an undercover narcotics investigation known as Operation Checkerboard, Sergeant Bonnell was shot and killed in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. He had been with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office for two years, following a year of service with the Baton Rouge Police Department.
He was survived by his wife and child.
The fatal incident unfolded as Sergeant Bonnell, along with a confidential informant, met with a suspect for a purported cocaine purchase. The plan required them to travel to New Orleans, approximately 30 miles away, to complete the transaction. The last transmission heard from Sergeant Bonnell's wire was a simple question: 'Do we have enough gas to get to New Orleans?'. With Bonnell in the front passenger seat and the informant and the primary suspect in the back, another individual drove the vehicle. Upon reaching the Desire Housing Project in New Orleans East, the primary suspect exited the car.
Without any warning or provocation, the suspect fired a shot, striking Sergeant Bonnell in the back of the head and killing him instantly. The gunman also shot and wounded the confidential informant, who managed to survive by feigning death. The suspects fled the scene immediately after the shooting. Their freedom was short-lived, however, as officers with the New Orleans Police Department apprehended them a short time later. The man responsible for Sergeant Bonnell's murder was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
