On Christmas Day 2016 in Lake Arthur, Louisiana, 41-year-old Shaft Francis was shot during a family gathering and died of a gunshot wound to the chest. Police were called just before 6 p.m. to a residence in the 500 block of New Orleans Avenue, where Francis was found and pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators identified the shooter as Francis’s cousin, 40-year-old Ray Brister Jr., who admitted to shooting him after an argument reportedly over family property. A .380 semi-automatic pistol was recovered near the scene. Brister was arrested and charged with manslaughter and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon; a Bill of Information on those counts was filed on February 13, 2017, and Brister later entered an Alford plea with an agreed sentencing cap of thirty-five years.

If anyone attended that gathering or has information about the events leading up to the shooting, please come forward.