NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — On August 5, District Attorney Jason Williams announced that the man responsible for the death of Tommie Wimberley was found guilty. The DA said, “Late last night, after a four-day trial, my colleagues and I secured a unanimous jury verdict of guilty as charged on Second Degree Murder, Attempted Second Degree Murder, and Obstruction of Justice.”
Williams continued, “Justice was served. The man that took Tommie away from all of you was convicted.”
In January of 2017, 29-year-old Tommie Wimberley died after being shot inside a vehicle near Mandeville Street and Claiborne Avenue, in the St. Roch neighborhood. DA Williams said that the suspect, Damond Scott Jr., “laid in wait for the victim’s vehicle,” before turning the 1600 block into a “warzone.” Scott was just 17 years old at the time of the shooting.
Details from the shooting were released, revealing that several people were outside when the gunshots rang out. Scott successfully shot up cars, houses, businesses, and people. Footage from the incident can be seen below.
Wimberley was driving a vehicle when he was shot. The vehicle then swerved out of control, striking and pinning a woman on the street. The attempted murder charge is for this woman, who had to be hospitalized because of her injuries.
DA Williams explained that what the community needs to work on, is their ability to speak up. “Despite the number of people who were out there on that scene, that we could see in videos and still shots, only one of them was in court to testify.”
This was the first case DA Williams worked on after the acquittal in his own trial. The DA thanked those who helped deliver justice in this case, saying it was not an easy case. “I want to reiterate, this was not some sort of slam dunk, open and close case. This was two very violent felonies, that wreaked havoc on our community.”
