Jonathan "Jay" Besson, a 29-year-old White / Caucasian man from Thibodaux, Louisiana, was a beloved son, brother, and godfather. A resident of Baton Rouge, he is remembered by his parents, John Besson and Carman Westerman, and his siblings, Kristy, Stacey, and Michael. His life was tragically cut short on June 5, 2017, when he was found murdered in his apartment, a victim of a violent chain of events that began with an attack on his roommate.
The day’s tragic events began in the early morning when Besson’s roommate gave a ride to two brothers, 25-year-old Jamarcus Tate and 22-year-old Donte Tate. The brothers directed the roommate to a location in North Baton Rouge where they met a third man, 22-year-old Cardale Linson. The trio then viciously assaulted and robbed the roommate, tied him up, and forced him into the trunk of his own car. The man managed to escape from the moving vehicle and immediately contacted the Baton Rouge Police Department to report the carjacking.
Crucially, he also alerted the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office, expressing grave concern for his roommate, Jonathan, as the assailants had stolen his keys to their apartment on South Sherwood Forest Boulevard.
Responding to the roommate's plea for a welfare check, sheriff's deputies went to the apartment complex shortly after 8:30 a.m. Inside, they made a devastating discovery: Jonathan Besson was deceased. The East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner's Office would later confirm that he had died from a single gunshot wound to his chest. The motive appeared to be robbery, a crime that escalated from a brutal carjacking to a senseless murder.
The investigation, led by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, moved quickly. Later that same day, investigators spotted the stolen car on North Foster Drive. They apprehended two suspects, Cardale Linson and Jamarcus Tate, who reportedly admitted to their roles in the carjacking and implicated Donte Tate as the one who shot Besson. Linson and Jamarcus Tate were arrested and booked on charges including first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, carjacking, and armed robbery.
A manhunt was launched for Donte Tate, who was now wanted for first-degree murder. During the search, authorities arrested his mother, Natasha Tate, and his girlfriend, Trinisa Hopes, on charges of obstruction of justice. Investigators alleged that the two women lied about Donte Tate's whereabouts and actively helped him hide from law enforcement. After a few days on the run, on June 8, 2017, Donte Tate surrendered to the Louisiana State Police Fugitive Task Force.
Following his death, Jonathan Besson's family held visitations and a Mass of Christian Burial at St. John the Evangelist in his native Thibodaux, where he was laid to rest in the church cemetery. He is survived by his parents, siblings, grandmothers, and two godchildren, Destanie and DeLaney Thomas.
The legal proceedings against the accused took a dramatic and unforeseen turn. Before he could be tried for the murder of Jonathan Besson, Donte Tate became a victim of gun violence himself. On June 12, 2023, six years after Besson’s death, the 29-year-old Tate was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting while standing outside a store in North Baton Rouge. His own murder remains an active, unsolved investigation as of mid-2024. The final court dispositions for Jamarcus Tate and Cardale Linson on the charges related to Jonathan Besson's murder are not detailed in publicly available records.
