NEW ORLEANS — The conviction and life sentence of a man who killed a 19-year-old woman in Iberville Parish in 2020 was upheld Friday by the Louisiana Supreme Court, which found the jurors were not coerced to reach a verdict. 

Dionte Bracken, 24, had been found guilty in the August 2020 killing of Jaion Knight and the injuring of Deandre Brown in 2022.

Knight and Brown were sitting in Brown’s car when Bracken emerged from the darkness on Aug. 20, 2020, opened the car door and started shooting, leaving very little opportunity for the victims to defend themselves, District Attorney Tony Clayton said in 2024.

Bracken appealed in 2024, raising concerns that the jury was coerced to reach a unanimous verdict. 

Bracken's attorneys said that, at the end of one of the days of the trial, the jury was told that if a verdict could not be reached that evening, sequestration would be necessary until the next day in order for the jury to make a decision. One of the jurors then explained that she could not be sequestered because of her special needs child, the appeal said.

The jury then deliberated before returning with another question: “[I]f they had the one vote – had a vote of one juror, could she go home?” 

"Until you all can reach a decision or you decide you can’t reach a decision, you have to continue to hopefully try and reach some type of decision in this case. So we’ll excuse you all again and just let us know when you’re ready," the trial court said in response to the state asking for the jury to be given one final chance before a hung jury was declared. The court did not take the action.

After working until 11 p.m., the jury convicted Bracken on both counts.