Cornelius ’Ponnie’ Garrison, 54, was fatally shot in New Orleans on September 22, 2020. His killing followed an indictment four days earlier accusing him of participating in a scheme of staged automobile collisions involving tractor-trailers to defraud insurance companies. Unbeknownst to his co‑conspirators, Garrison had been cooperating with federal investigators for nearly a year, providing information about the fraud ring.

Investigators say the murder was part of a plot to silence a federal witness. Authorities arrested Ryan J. Harris, then 35, and his girlfriend Jovanna R. Gardner, then 39, in connection with the killing; federal prosecutors allege the pair murdered Garrison to stop his cooperation and to prevent exposure of the staged accident enterprise.

Did anyone in New Orleans or the traffic‑claims community have contact with Garrison in the weeks before September 22, 2020?