Courtney Carlda Whitfield, 31, was shot and killed on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, while on a break from his job at an IHOP on Siegen Lane in Baton Rouge. Another employee was wounded but survived. Whitfield was participating in a Department of Corrections work-release program at the time.

Investigators with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office say the attack was planned: five people traveled from Zachary in a stolen vehicle, surveilled the restaurant and waited roughly half an hour for Whitfield to emerge, then two of the suspects allegedly opened fire. The vehicle used in the incident was later found burned in a nearby neighborhood.

A grand jury in October 2021 returned indictments against five suspects: Najee Skipper (then 17), indicted on second-degree murder and to be tried as an adult, and Travel Jarrell, Shermane Molden, Melvin Brooks and Tyrese Keller, each indicted on counts that included first-degree murder. Authorities have not publicly disclosed a specific motive for the ambush.

Anyone who knew Courtney, worked at the IHOP, or saw activity around Siegen Lane that afternoon is asked to share information.