Rodney D Richards was 24 when he was killed in an ambush on the night of August 8, 2018. He was a passenger in a Nissan sedan driven by 24-year-old Cordarious Cortez Smith; the two men were leaving a home music studio in the Payne Sub-Division off Louisiana Highway 6 East in the Grand Ecore area when their vehicle was reportedly ambushed. Calls to the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office 911 Center began shortly after 1:40 a.m., and deputies found the Nissan crashed in a ditch after it struck a tree. Both Richards and Smith suffered multiple gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead by the Natchitoches Parish Coroner’s Office.

Investigators processed the scene through the night, canvassed the neighborhood and interviewed potential witnesses, but the case went cold. As of May 2024 no arrests had been made and no suspects publicly identified. If anyone has information about the ambush near Michelle Drive that night, please contact the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office.