Louisiana Murder Suspect Connected to Anti-Violence Initiative

(KPEL News) - A corruption investigation by the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office unearthed an invoice that has many questioning whether or not a murder suspect was paid as part of former Mayor Sharon Weston Broome's Anti-Violence Initiative, according to a report by WAFB.

The invoice lists Roderick Shannon, and the question is whether a man going by Madd Marvin was paid for a youth initiative while he was out on bond as a murder suspect.

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Madd Marvin, whose real name is Marvin Payne, later had the charges dropped after District Attorney Hillar Moore said the witnesses they needed were not cooperative.

Metro Councilman Darryl Hurst says he knows that Marvin Payne did work as part of the L.I.V.E. program, which stands for Lowering Incidents of Violence through Education. He says Payne was looking to change his life and share his message with young people. Hurst says he did not know Payne got paid.

Payne, for his part, says he was not paid, and he would also like to know, if he wasn't paid, to whom the money went. There is plenty to unravel with this situation. Councilman Hurst issued a statement that reads, in part,

While I do not condone any actions that occurred prior to his decision to pursue change, our period of collaboration produced measurable positive outcomes. During this time, violent incidents in Zion City declined, community conditions began to improve, and a tangible difference was made.

Now, for her part, Baton Rouge Constable Terrica Williams says she did not pay Payne and that she paid for these events herself. She added that she has no connection to anything that was billed to local government.

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Payne says he voluntarily did this work, which included a presentation in which he spoke to kids about gun safety. The invoice was tied to the Mayor's Safe Hopeful Healthy initiative.

District Attorney Hillar Moore says,

He would not be a spokesman I would pick to choose to talk to children about gun safety

Payne was out on bond after being accused of shooting Jordan Jenkins to death on August 16, 2021.

The investigation is ongoing.