METAIRIE, La. — A 30-year-old Marrero man was so incensed by finding out about a fight involving several women, including his girlfriend and mother, that he armed himself, drove to a Metairie apartment, kicked in the door, and then shot and killed a man and pistol-whipped another.
A Jefferson Parish jury found Ronald Newton guilty of first-degree murder in the August 2022 killing of Earl Ellsworth, who witnesses said had nothing to do with the fight other than shooting video of it.
Court testimony said that Newton was at work on that fateful day when he was told about a fight between four women that happened on the lawn of his Marrero home in the 6400 block of Millender Drive.
During the fight, Newton’s girlfriend was fighting with his cousin when the cousin’s boyfriend stepped in and punched her.
Court records showed Newton arrived at his Marrero home and departed soon thereafter armed with a rifle. A doorbell camera recorded him talking to his mother, who pleaded with him to calm down.
Newton arrived at the Metairie apartment complex in the 2400 block of Pasadena Avenue and was recorded by the building’s surveillance camera.
Inside the apartment were Newton’s cousin and her boyfriend, along with Ellsworth. Newton knocked on the door and the cousin looked through the peephole and saw him holding a gun. The three then ran and hid in the apartment’s bathroom.
Testimony showed that Newton proceeded to kick down the front door, the bedroom door and the bathroom door, and that Ellsworth was hurriedly trying to load a pistol when he was shot by Newton, who then pistol-whipped the cousin’s boyfriend.
Assistant District Attorney Brendan Bowen used his closing argument to say that Ellsworth was justified in having a loaded gun to protect himself and his friends.
Back at Newton’s home in Marrero, testimony showed that a doorbell camera recorded Newton’s mother receiving a call and screaming that her son had killed someone.
Newton was arrested four days later at a hotel in New Orleans by the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force.
The jury took one hour and 15 minutes to return with its verdict of guilty.
Sentencing is set for April 3.
