BOGALUSA, La. — “These are the shoes he had on when he passed,” said Ronique Jones-Taylor as she pointed to a pair of shoes sitting on a bed inside her Bogalusa home.
Throughout her home, Jones-Taylor has memories everywhere that help her feel close to her son.
“These are his baby pictures,” Jones-Taylor said pointing to a wall.
The youngest of eight kids, Ronie Taylor, 15, was shot and killed during a birthday party on Warren Street back in December.
“We’re lost. Every day we look at our little son. We look at him every day and wonder why that happened to him,” said Ronie’s father Reginald Taylor.
In February, Bogalusa police arrested five juveniles they say were connected to the shooting. Last week, those suspects were released from juvenile detention.
“I felt like it was a slap in the face, a kick in the stomach,” Jones-Taylor said.
Ronie’s parents say they got a call from District Attorney Warren Montgomery’s office letting them know there wasn’t enough evidence.
“They assured us when they arrested them that they had enough to keep them, to hold them, but they did not,” Jones-Taylor said.
When asked about the case, a spokesperson from the district attorney’s office released a statement to Eyewitness News.
“The matter remains under review but at the present moment there is insufficient, admissible evidence to establish a perpetrator’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“The judge or the D.A., neither one of them did their job if you ask me,” Taylor said.
The Taylors believe the juveniles are guilty and say the justice they thought was happening is gone. Also gone are the dreams Ronie, a student at Bogalusa High School, laid out for himself, which his father holds on to.
“He said, ‘I want to graduate from High School, I’m going to buy me a house and a $25,000 car,” said Taylor as he read a note his son had written last year. “It’s been rough you know. It’s hard losing your baby boy.”
Ronie’s parents are now pleading for someone to come forward to hold the people responsible accountable.
“It’s not going to bring my baby back, but it will give me a little bit of peace to know that they’re being charged with what they did,” Jones-Taylor said.
Two 14-year-olds were also shot at the party. They survived.
With this now being an open case, there’s a $2,500 Crimestoppers reward on the table. Tips to Crimestoppers are anonymous. You can call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.
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