Brandon L. Washington, 32, was shot dead in a Covington motel room in the early morning of October 4, 2016. St. Tammany Parish deputies found him at the Green Springs Motel after a report of gunfire at about 3:45 a.m.; investigators determined the fatal wound was the result of a robbery that went wrong.

Police identified four men who went to the motel intending to rob Washington. Demetri James, then 19, was accused of firing the fatal shot; he was later tried and convicted of second-degree murder and received a mandatory life sentence without parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Three co-defendants — Terry Hookfin, 27; Tyreek Sandifer, 18; and Devin Decoud, 37 — pleaded guilty to manslaughter and armed robbery. Hookfin and Decoud testified against James at trial.

The investigation and subsequent prosecutions resolved who was charged in Washington’s killing, but the loss remains for his family and community.