District Attorney J. Collin Sims announces that today, July 27, 2026, 19-year-old Hakheim Young of Bogalusa, Louisiana, was sentenced to life in prison without the benefit of parole for his role in the January 2024 fatal shooting of a 14-year-old boy.
Following a unanimous guilty verdict returned by a Washington Parish jury on June 17, 2026, the Honorable Judge John A. Keller sentenced Young as follows:
- Count 1: Second Degree Murder – Life imprisonment without benefit of parole.
- Count 2: Attempted Second Degree Murder – 30 years at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.
- Count 3: Attempted Second Degree Murder – 30 years at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.
Judge Keller ordered the two 30-year sentences for attempted murder to run consecutively to each other, but concurrently with Young’s life sentence for murder.
The sentencing concludes the prosecution of the January 11, 2024 shooting in the parking lot of Bogalusa High School during a basketball game. Assistant District Attorneys Jay Adair and Gary Tromblay presented evidence showing that Young, alongside co-defendant Keldric Harry, fired multiple shots at a 14-year-old boy and two of his friends after the teens entered an unlocked vehicle. The victim was struck eight times in the back and succumbed to his injuries, while one of the surviving victims suffered a gunshot wound to the leg.
This marks the second life sentence handed down in the case. Co-defendant Keldric Harry, 18, was convicted earlier this year and received an identical sentence in April 2026.
“Today’s sentence delivers closure and accountability for a horrific act of violence that shattered a family and shocked our entire community,” stated District Attorney Collin Sims. “A 14-year-old child lost his life to automatic weapon fire over an unlocked car door. There is no place in Washington Parish for those who hold such a reckless disregard for human life. I am deeply proud of Assistant District Attorneys Jay Adair and Gary Tromblay, the Bogalusa Police Department, and all of our law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly to ensure both individuals responsible for this tragedy were prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Young has been remanded to the custody of the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office pending transfer to the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections.