Joseph Jenain Simmons was a 37-year-old Black man from Laredo, Texas, who was shot and killed on Chester Street in Alexandria, Louisiana. The killing was initially treated as first-degree murder but prosecutors later filed manslaughter charges in early September 2014.

Two people were charged in connection with the death. Mark Russell Thomas, 33, of Alexandria, was charged with manslaughter after the initial murder allegation was reduced by bill of information. Shamantha Wayn Boyd, 46, of Alexandria, was also charged with manslaughter in the same incident, so the case proceeded as parallel prosecutions tied to the same night.

By the summer of 2016 neither matter had reached a jury. Thomas obtained a continuance that pushed his trial to August 23, and Boyd’s trial was scheduled for October 10.

If anyone has information about Joseph Simmons, his movements that night, or witnesses on Chester Street, please share what is known.