(The Center Square) – The recent decline in Shreveport crime is showing signs of strain, as the first nine days of April recorded three homicides concentrated in the same area of the city.
During the first three months of 2026, Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith reported declining crime across the city, to include the homicide rate, which is tracking at a multi-year low, according to Smith’s City Council presentation made last month.
But April ushered in three violent killings in a five-day span just north and east of the regional airport in the city’s urban core. All three occurred within a nine-mile radius.
In response, the Police Department has increased patrols in the area, deployed a mobile surveillance truck and utilized a law enforcement helicopter over the weekend. Shreveport maintains a partnership with the DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office for the use of the aircraft.
“Unfortunately, when it comes to this type of crime, we cannot predict when it’s going to occur but we can tell when we’re going to have the most people and plan accordingly,” said Chris Bordelon, the department’s public information officer. “Criminals don’t want to be in places where police are.”
On April 5, Jerquavious Johnson, 25, died from multiple gunshot wounds. He was located at a parking lot near West 70th Street. Valentino Carter was later arrested and charged with second degree murder, according to the Police Department.
Then two homicides occurred on Thursday, one of which has resulted in an arrest but the other remains an open investigation.
Police found Barry Paulk, 65, deceased in a room at the Cozy Inn hotel on Greenwood Road just north of the airport. Police arrested Lloyd Dukes, 59, on one count of second degree murder.
Later that same evening, officers responded to Daiquiri Paradise on West 70th Street where they found Choncy Moore, 35, deceased inside a vehicle from multiple gunshot wounds. An arrest hasn’t been made, according to Bordelon.
