On the evening of May 7, 2024, 44-year-old Jonathan T. Debo Howard was found in a ditch on the 100 block of Louisiana Highway 119 in Natchez, Louisiana, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Deputies with the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office and EMS responded; Howard was taken to Natchitoches Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Detectives processed the scene, collected evidence, and interviewed witnesses the night of the shooting. Their investigation identified 30-year-old Michael K. Wills of Natchez as a suspect; a warrant for his arrest was issued on the morning of May 8. A coordinated operation involving the Natchitoches SWAT team, sheriff’s detectives, patrol deputies, and the Winn Parish K-9 Tracking Team led to Wills’s arrest at a residence on Old River Road without incident. Search warrants executed in connection with the case yielded three semi-automatic handguns. Wills, a convicted felon, was booked into the Natchitoches Parish Detention Center and faces one count of Second Degree Murder and one count of Aggravated Assault with a Firearm, with other charges pending and no bond set at the time of arrest.

Are there witnesses or information about Howard’s movements or anyone who saw activity on Louisiana Highway 119 that evening?