Rakatelyn Colla

A neighborhood argument on a spring day in Opelousas, Louisiana, escalated into a burst of gunfire that left a little girl and a man dead, and a community in mourning. The lives of 4-year-old Rakatelyn Colla, a Black girl, and 46-year-old Alton James Thomas were cut short on April 27, 2022, in a tragedy that wounded three other children and tore through multiple families. "They took my baby from me," Rakatelyn’s mother said in the days after her daughter's death.

The violence erupted at an apartment complex on Mia Street. According to the St. Landry Parish District Attorney, the incident began with a dispute between two next-door neighbors, Holly Michelle Roberts and the mother of Rakatelyn Colla. Later that day, Roberts allegedly met with two men, Davieontray L. Breaux and Felton James Martin, both from the Lafayette area. The two men then went to the neighbor's apartment. Following a verbal exchange, they opened fire on the people inside.

The barrage of bullets was devastating. Alton James Thomas was killed at the scene. Rakatelyn Colla was critically injured and died at a local hospital. The gunfire also wounded three other children inside the apartment: a 17-month-old, a 7-year-old, and another child. In a nearby home, a 16-year-old was grazed by a bullet that pierced the wall. "It was a senseless crime that could have been avoided," said Alton Thomas's cousin, Tiffany Thomas.

The Opelousas Police Department, with assistance from multiple state and local law enforcement agencies, launched an immediate and intensive investigation. Investigators quickly identified Breaux and Martin as the suspected shooters. On April 28, just a day after the killings, a multi-agency effort tracked Felton James Martin to the Baton Rouge area, where he was arrested. A manhunt continued for Davieontray Breaux, who was considered armed and dangerous. He was eventually apprehended on May 8, 2022. The alleged instigator of the conflict, Holly Michelle Roberts, was also arrested.

In June 2022, a St. Landry Parish grand jury returned indictments against all three suspects. Davieontray Breaux, Felton Martin, and Holly Roberts were each charged with two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder. Martin and Breaux also faced charges of home invasion and being a felon in possession of a firearm, while Roberts was charged with obstruction of justice. District Attorney Chad Pitre noted the profound impact of the crime, stating, “Anytime a young child is a murder victim it's difficult to deal with.”

The legal proceedings for Davieontray Breaux have been complex. The District Attorney’s office announced its intention to seek the death penalty. Breaux's defense challenged the indictment on the grounds that capital murder charges could not be tried alongside the non-capital attempted murder charges. In May 2025, the Louisiana Supreme Court agreed, reversing a lower court's decision and remanding the case for further proceedings.

Following the Supreme Court's ruling, the St. Landry Parish District Attorney secured a new indictment against Breaux for the first-degree murder charges in June 2025. The prosecutor’s office confirmed it would continue to seek the death penalty. As of that month, Breaux's capital murder trial was anticipated to begin in mid-2026. The court cases for Felton James Martin and Holly Michelle Roberts are proceeding separately, though their current status is not publicly available. The community continues to await justice for a night of violence that cost a man his life and a little girl her future.