Three New Orleans men have been sentenced to life in federal prison in connection with a 2017 shooting that killed two people outside Edna Karr High School.
In April 2025, a federal jury convicted Terran Williams, Tyrone Bovia, and Javonta Doleman of racketeering, drug trafficking, firearms conspiracy, and murder.
Prosecutors allege that the three men were members of the Byrd Gang, also known as M3, MagFischer, 315, and the Piff Gang, which operated principally out of the former Magnolia Housing Development and was involved in narcotics trafficking and a deadly conflict with the Ghost Gang.
On January 31, 2017, prosecutors claim the guys approached a car outside Edna Karr High School immediately after a basketball game and opened fire on two people inside.
Lawrence Williams and Wynston Jackson were both shot. Jackson died at the spot, while Williams died later in the hospital.
Investigators believe the shooting was part of an ongoing cycle of retaliatory violence between the competing gangs, driven in part by social media posts, rap music, and videos.
Bovia was also convicted of a separate 2017 shooting at an apartment building that targeted another Ghost Gang member. A Byrd Gang member was killed in the exchange of gunfire.
All three men received life sentences for the murders and racketeering conspiracy, as well as additional prison time for narcotics and gun violations.
“The sentences of life imprisonment for Williams, Bovia and Doleman ensures that these violent murderers and drug traffickers will spend the rest of their lives in federal prison,” said U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle. “These prosecutions and sentences are examples of the federal government’s dedication to bring individuals who wreak havoc on our community to justice.”
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