Martrelle Hamilton Jr., a 22-year-old man from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was killed on the evening of August 29, 2024, after a confrontation outside Uncle Moe's Food Mart and Deli at 5557 Plank Road, near Hollywood Street. Baton Rouge Police said the violence began at about 5:30 p.m., when Hamilton became involved in a fistfight with another person in the parking lot. According to investigators, the physical fight ended, but the confrontation did not.
The other person allegedly armed himself with a firearm as Hamilton was making his way back toward his vehicle. Police said the gunman then opened fire, striking Hamilton multiple times. Hamilton collapsed in the parking lot and was pronounced dead at the scene. His family publicly identified him as Martrelle Hamilton Jr., and obituary information also records his death on August 29.
In the immediate aftermath, police had not publicly identified the person they believed fired the shots. Baton Rouge Police homicide detectives described the gunman only as the person who had been fighting with Hamilton and opened an active homicide investigation. Investigators asked anyone with information to contact the department's Violent Crimes Division or Crime Stoppers. The circumstances described by police indicated that the shooting occurred after the fistfight was effectively over: Hamilton was attempting to return to his vehicle when the other person obtained a gun and began firing. No separate motive beyond the confrontation was initially disclosed.
The investigation eventually focused on Sakyron Taylor. On September 19, 2024, Baton Rouge Police homicide detectives announced that Taylor had been arrested in connection with Hamilton's killing. Police identified Taylor as the person who had fought with Hamilton before allegedly obtaining the firearm and shooting him as he headed back toward his vehicle. Taylor was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on charges of second-degree murder and illegal use of a weapon. The arrest transformed the case from an investigation involving an unidentified gunman into a murder prosecution centered on Taylor, although the allegations remained accusations to be resolved through the court system.
Following his arrest, Taylor appeared before 19th Judicial District Court Commissioner Kory Tauzin, who set his bond at $275,000. Reporting on the court proceedings said the conditions of release included homebound monitoring for a period to be determined, compliance monitoring, an overnight curfew from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m., and a prohibition against possessing firearms. Taylor reportedly was not required to wear an ankle monitor and was instead placed under a form of monitoring described as a “shadow track.” He subsequently obtained release on bond while Hamilton's murder case remained pending.
The criminal case advanced further in February 2025, when an East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury indicted Taylor for second-degree murder in connection with Hamilton's death. A compliance report submitted to the court on May 21, 2025, reportedly indicated that Taylor had been complying with his monitoring requirements. At that point, the homicide prosecution had not resulted in a trial or conviction, and a motions hearing in the case was expected later in 2025.
The status of Taylor's release became more significant only days after that compliance report. On May 24, 2025, while still out on bond in Hamilton's homicide case, Taylor was accused of another shooting, this time following an argument inside a McDonald's on South Sherwood Forest Boulevard in Baton Rouge. Police alleged that Taylor left the restaurant, obtained a firearm, returned, and shot another person in the midsection. Baton Rouge Police's Violent Crimes Apprehension Team and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested Taylor on May 28. In that separate case he was booked on allegations including attempted second-degree murder, illegal use of a weapon and aggravated criminal damage to property. Reporting specifically noted that Taylor was free on bond for the 2024 homicide when the second shooting allegedly occurred.
After the later arrest, East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore said prosecutors were seeking Taylor's monitoring reports and intended to ask that his bond in the earlier homicide matter be revoked so that he could be held. The later allegations did not establish guilt in Hamilton's killing, but they brought renewed attention to Taylor's pretrial release while facing the second-degree murder indictment. The available online reporting located for the case documents Taylor's arrest, murder charge, bond, release conditions and subsequent grand-jury indictment, but does not report that he has been convicted or that a trial verdict has been reached in Martrelle Hamilton Jr.'s death.
