Trayvon Howard

On the afternoon of June 14, 2022, a 911 call reporting gunshots brought New Orleans police to a house in the Plum Orchard neighborhood. Inside, they found Trayvon Howard, a 24-year-old Black man, lying on the dining room floor. Paramedics soon arrived at the residence in the 4600 block of Lonely Oak Drive and pronounced him dead at the scene.

According to court documents, detectives learned from two witnesses that the shooting was the culmination of a physical fight. The witnesses told police that an acquaintance of Howard’s, a man they knew as “Lou,” had come to the house and gotten into an argument with him. The verbal dispute quickly escalated into a physical altercation.

During the fight, the man allegedly pulled out a gun. Howard began to struggle with him, trying to take the weapon away. The man, however, kept control of the firearm and allegedly shot Howard multiple times. After the shooting, he fled the scene, driving off in a black BMW.

In the course of their investigation, detectives presented witnesses with a lineup. They identified the man who had fought with and shot Howard as Louis Scott, 33. Based on the witness statements and identification, police secured a warrant for his arrest.

On June 26, 2022, Louis Scott was arrested and booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center on one count of second-degree murder in connection with Trayvon Howard’s death. The following day, a magistrate commissioner set his bond at $500,000. As of late June 2022, the case was proceeding through the court system.