Derrick Thomas, 53, was shot and killed in his vehicle in Baton Rouge on the afternoon of June 27, 2023. Around 3 p.m. he was sitting in his black pickup truck at a stop sign near Woodpecker Street and Avenue J when multiple gunshots struck him, shattering the driver’s-side window. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The motive and identity of his killer remain unknown.

About an hour later, just over a mile away on Townsley Street, two more people were shot: Joseph Profit, 48, who died at the scene, and Robin Hayes, 52, who was taken to hospital and later died. Investigators later focused on Derrick Thomas’s son, 37-year-old Derrick Coleman, as a suspect in the Townsley Street killings after footage and other evidence reportedly placed him at both scenes wearing the same clothing. Charges against Coleman in the double homicide were filed in September 2023 and later dropped.

The murder of Derrick Thomas remains unsolved. Anyone with information about his shooting is asked to contact the Violent Crimes Unit at (225) 389-4869 or Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-7867. Will anyone who was in the Woodpecker Street area that afternoon come forward with information?