Four months to the day after a 16-year-old John Ehret High School student in Louisiana was gunned down at his Marrero school bus stop, a set of twins and a 17-year-old boy pleaded not guilty to his murder Tuesday.
18-year-old twins, Daveon and Davon Gilmore, and 17-year-old Orlando Washington were indicted Thursday on charges of second-degree murder. Washington, a juvenile, was charged as an adult, according to Jefferson Parish court records.
The trio is accused of killing Ahmad Howard as he waited for his school bus on the morning of February 21, about a half-block from his home.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office investigators have not disclosed the suspected motive for the murder, but they do believe Howard was the intended target, according to Detective Steven Keller who testified about the case during a March 11 hearing.
Howard was standing on a sidewalk in the 1800 block of Betty Street about 7:30 a.m. when he was ambushed by two gunmen, according to Keller.
Howard was shot in the face and pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses told deputies they saw three males, each with their face covered, run from the scene.
Deputies took off after the suspects and spotted the trio running along a nearby canal bank. The three suspects hopped into a maroon-colored Dodge minivan parked on Michael Street and the vehicle sped off, Keller said.
Deputies pulled over the vehicle in the 4800 block of Lapalco Boulevard, according to authorities. The Gilmore twins and Washington were inside. Washington’s mother was behind the wheel, according to Keller.
Deputies could see a rifle protruding from under a jacket near Orlando Washington on a backseat. All four people were taken to the Sheriff’s Office for questioning.
Investigators searched the van and recovered a rifle and two handguns, Keller said. The handguns were found in places close to where the twins had been sitting in the vehicle.
Neither the twins nor Washington spoke to detectives. But Washington’s mother told investigators she received a call from her son’s cell phone asking to be picked up from Mansfield Drive, according to Keller. The detective didn’t say whether it was Orlando Washington or the twins who made the call.
Washington’s mother drove to the area, but she then received a video call from the twins who directed her to a new pick-up location on Carmadelle Street, Keller said.
She told investigators she saw the police activity while driving around to look for the three teens, but said she didn’t know what was going on, according to Keller.
Washington’s mother told investigators she spotted her son and the twins on Michael Street, all clad in black clothing, and stopped, Keller testified. Washington’s mother said she didn’t see any weapons when the trio entered the vehicle.
She was not arrested or booked with any charges related to the homicide investigation.
After the indictment, the court increased the bail for the Gilmore twins to $750,000. They were being held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna.
Washington was being held at the Rivarde Juvenile Assessment Center in Harvey. His bail was set at $750,000.
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