Lafayette man killed outside LC nightclub

Published 8:50 am Tuesday, January 6, 2015

A Lafayette man was killed in the early hours Monday on the street outside a Lake Charles nightclub where a Louisiana rapper was set to host a party, authorities said.

Kenneth Joseph Brown, 34, is believed to have been shot in his vehicle near Club Vibes, 3434 E. Prien Lake Road, just before 12:40 a.m. Monday, according to the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office incident report.

Lil’ Boosie, whose real name is Torrence Hatch, was not performing but was to host a party at Club Vibes for a friend, his manager, T.Q. Hatch, confirmed in an email.

Lil’ Boosie was released in March from Angola State Penitentiary, where he served 4 1/2 years on drug charges. He has also stood trial for murder, but was found not guilty by a jury in 2012.

The rapper is not a suspect in Monday’s murder, Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kim Myers said.

Deputies working security at the nightclub were informed of the shooting, according to the initial report.

Brown was believed to be heading to the party when he was shot, Chief Deputy Stitch Guillory said. Another person in the vehicle was uninjured, Guillory said. Brown was pronounced dead at a local hospital. No arrests were made, but deputies did have a person of interest, Guillory said.

Brown’s car, which was parked on the side of the road facing east, had “a bullet hole in the metal between the driver’s side front fender and the driver’s side front door,” the initial report read. “The driver’s side window was shattered from a bullet.”

Guillory asked anyone with information about the shooting to call Det. Mark Clark at 491-3635.

(MGNonline)