HARVEY, La. (WGNO) — The suspect in the 2016 case in the death of a teenager and attempted murder, was found guilty by a jury of his peers on Wednesday, March 29.
On May 5, 2016, 18-year-old Ivory Franklin and the victim 17-year-old Reginald Black, and Black’s 15-year-old nephew, were walking to a convenience store in the Woodmere subdivision at 3 a.m. The trio was walking in a line near a canal embankment on Windmere Ct.
The order was Black in the front and the 15-year-old in the rear.
Court documents revealed Black asked for a cigarette lighter when Franklin pulled a revolver from his waist and shot Black in the head. He turned the gun on the 15-year-old and fired shots but it ricocheted off the cement.
The surviving victim recounted the incident and said he jumped into the canal, came up on the other side and quickly went to find help. He banged on a resident’s door who call the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s office, according to court documents.
Deputies later found Black lying face down on the canal bank.
Court documents note Franklin denied the story and blamed the 15-year-old, stating he was allegedly smoking marijuana and with the gun when it went off.
Now 25-year-old Franklin was found guilty as charged for the second-degree murder of Reginald Black, and the attempted second-degree murder of the 15-year-old nephew after a two-hour deliberation.
Reportedly this is the third time Franklin stood trial for the murder because in 2017 the jury could not reach a verdict and the year later the trial was held.
Franklin received a sentence of 40 years for the crime.
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