John A. Brown, Jr.

Crime Brown was a resident of New Orleans with prior convictions for robbery, burglary, theft, and escape. He said that on September 7, 1984, he had run out of cocaine and needed money to purchase more of the drug.

That evening Omer Laughlin and his wife had eaten dinner at a restaurant near the corner of Dauphine and Touro streets in Faubourg Marigny in New Orleans. At approximately 11:45 p.m., they left the restaurant and began walking to their car, located about a block away. A man stepped out of a nearby vehicle and confronted the Laughlins. He pinned them against their car and demanded money from Omer Laughlin. His wife screamed and ran back toward the restaurant. By the time she returned to the car with help, her husband was dead.