On the evening of December 4, 2017, shots rang out in the 7800 block of South Coronet Court in New Orleans. A 30-year-old Black man, Vashawn Tate, was found in a driveway with multiple gunshot wounds to his head and forearm and was taken to a hospital. He remained alive for nearly two weeks but died of his injuries on December 17, 2017, at which point the investigation was reclassified from aggravated battery by shooting to homicide.

New Orleans Police Department homicide detectives led the follow-up investigation and identified a suspect, David Hester. On January 5, 2018, NOPD’s Violent Offenders Warrant Squad and the U.S. Marshals arrested Hester and booked him into the Orleans Parish Justice Center. He was charged with second-degree murder, simple criminal damage to property, illegal use of a weapon, and possession of a firearm by a person with a prior conviction for domestic abuse battery; his arrest also revealed outstanding warrants for alleged simple battery domestic, simple criminal damage to property, and violations of protective orders.

Are there details about Tate’s last hours or the people present on December 4 that anyone can share?