Isaac “Big Ike” Conrad Stern, a beloved father, grandfather, and brother, was a man remembered for his friendship by those in his New Orleans neighborhood. Born on September 1, 1965, he worked at the Dixie Web Printing Company. He was a father to four children—Kewanna, Keisha, Kapria, and Isaac Jones—and a doting grandfather to twelve grandchildren. Friends and family recalled his warm presence and mourned his sudden and violent death.
On the evening of Friday, February 15, 2013, the 47-year-old Black man was standing outside his home near the Fair Grounds, on the corner of Romulus and Castiglione streets. It was shortly before 7:30 p.m., and he was waiting for a friend. Suddenly, a car sped toward him, and occupants unleashed a barrage of gunfire. Witnesses described a horrific scene: as Stern collapsed to the ground, three masked gunmen reportedly stood over his body, laughed, and continued to fire.
The brutality of the attack led New Orleans Police to believe it was a targeted assassination.
Investigators soon theorized that the murder was an act of gang violence, possibly carried out by a group known as the Mid-City Killers. The motive was thought to be retaliation for violence allegedly committed by Stern’s son. The brazen killing set off a devastating chain of revenge shootings that gripped the city. Police identified a person of interest in Stern's murder: Orlando "Lanny" Rickmon, 26, an alleged associate of the Mid-City gang. A description of one of the gunmen as being tall with long dreadlocks matched Rickmon.
The cycle of violence escalated just five days after Stern's murder, when Rickmon was shot and wounded. He survived this attempt on his life, but his time was running out. On April 23, 2013, Rickmon and a friend, 22-year-old Desmond Bell, were sitting on a porch in the 4000 block of Baudin Street when they were ambushed by gunmen. Both men were killed in the attack. An 8-year-old boy playing nearby was also struck by a stray bullet and critically wounded.
The investigation into this string of homicides ultimately unraveled the connections between them. Authorities charged Isaac Stern’s son, Isaac “Ike” Jones, with the shootings. In March 2018, just as his trial was set to begin, Jones, then 28, accepted a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Orlando Rickmon in the first shooting and to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder for the fatal shooting on April 23. He also pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the deaths of Desmond Bell and another man, Jeremy Curry, in a separate 2012 killing. Jones was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The Orleans Parish District Attorney noted that the plea deal was necessary because witnesses were not cooperating.
In a separate development in May 2018, members of the Mid-City Killers gang were brought to justice for Isaac Stern's murder. Dwayne “Wayne” Miller and Glen “G Three Stone” Emerson pleaded guilty to five counts of manslaughter, including for the death of Stern, and were sentenced to 40 years in prison. A third member, Richard “Trey” Ward, who was 15 at the time of the crime, also pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in Stern's death and received a 20-year sentence. With these convictions, the murder of Isaac Stern was officially solved.
