Teenager accused of French Quarter murder pleaded guilty to 2022 shooting

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – After a 17-year-old was charged with a murder on Bourbon Street earlier this month, Fox 8 learned his criminal past includes a 2022 shooting that injured two tourists at the same intersection, according to a crime watchdog.

Jakoz King of Reserve was arrested this month in connection with the shooting death of 26-year-old Andre Preston. Preston was gunned down just before 4 a.m. on Saturday, August 10, at the corner of Bourbon and St. Louis streets.

When New Orleans police arrived, they found Preston suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken for treatment but died at the hospital.

King was arrested a few days later, but Fox 8 learned that this was not his first arrest.

“We need to be able to determine what the juvenile justice system has done,” said Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission.

Goyeneche said he was told by multiple law enforcement sources that King was involved in another shooting that occurred at the same intersection of Bourbon and St. Louis in November 2022.

Two women were injured in this shooting, a 28-year-old and a 54-year-old.

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Two women were shot dead on Bourbon Street shortly after midnight, New Orleans Police said

Fox 8 confirmed through Orleans Parish Juvenile Court that King pleaded guilty to aggravated assault by firearm on February 2, 2023, and served one year in state custody at the Swanson Centry for Youth for that offense, which continued until February 2, 2024. He remains incarcerated there on other matters, the court said, but his release date is unclear.

“If the system cannot be held accountable for the decisions made, which may come to fruition in a short period of time when this 15-year-old is now an adult in the eyes of the law, we cannot really judge how effectively the juvenile justice system is functioning,” Goyeneche said.

Fox 8 asked Child Protective Services for more information about when King was released and whether there were any conditions attached to him, such as the use of an electronic ankle bracelet. The state agency has not responded.

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