Dakota Naquin, 21, of Slaughter, Louisiana, was fatally shot on the morning of Friday, December 6, 2024, at the Palms at Sunset Lakes Apartment Complex on McHugh Road in Zachary. Officers arrived about 10:25 a.m. and found Naquin with a gunshot wound to the head; paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. Authorities have not disclosed a motive or detailed circumstances that led to the shooting.

The investigation resulted in the arrest of 21-year-old Ryley Windham, who was reportedly present in the apartment during the incident; Windham was taken into custody, later charged with manslaughter and illegal use of a weapon, and transported to the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. Naquin’s father, Will Naquin, said his son had been dropped off at home after work, was picked up minutes later by someone he considered a friend, and was gone about fifteen minutes after that.

Months earlier, in July 2024, Dakota Naquin had been arrested on negligent homicide and reckless operation charges connected to a November 2023 head-on crash on Joor Road in Central that killed 50-year-old Charles Lepisto; Naquin was critically injured in that collision and had been recovering. A funeral service for Dakota was held December 11, 2024, at Charlet Funeral Home in Zachary. If anyone knew Dakota or has information about what happened at the apartment that morning, please come forward.