Teen accused of murder after victim in Dumaine Street double shooting dies: NOPD

An 18-year-old man was booked with murder Wednesday (March 27) after one of the victims in a January double shooting died of complications from his gunshot wound, according to court records.

Rontrell Keller was arrested within days of the Jan. 9 shooting, which fatally wounded a 19-year-old man, identified in court records as Webster Rainey, as he sat on the porch of a Treme home. The gunfire also struck a 9-year-old boy, who was inside of the home in the 2600 block of Dumaine Street, according to an affidavit for Keller’s arrest warrant. The boy was shot in his left ankle.

Rainey died early Feb. 7, nearly a month after the shooting, due to complications from the gunshot wound to his lower abdomen, the affidavit states. He was admitted to University Medical Center about 4 p.m. Feb. 6 and pronounced dead at the hospital around 6:15 the following morning.

An autopsy by the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office showed that Rainey died of sepsis, a condition the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines as “the body’s extreme response to an infection.”

Keller was originally booked Jan. 11 with two counts of aggravated battery but then formally charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, according to court records.

Keller, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, was in the hospital immediately after the shooting due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound sustained when he, “while running away, shot himself in the leg,” an NOPD spokesman said.

17-year-old with gunshot wound admits to double shooting that injured 9-year-old boy: NOPD

Keller was rebooked into the Orleans Justice Center jail with the second-degree murder charge on Wednesday, nearly two months after Rainey died.

According to an affidavit for Keller’s arrest, NOPD Homicide Detective Christopher Puccio received notification Wednesday of Rainey’s death and was then assigned as lead detective on the homicide case. The affidavit does not explain the nearly two-month lag between Rainey’s death and notification of Puccio.

Keller remains jailed with his bond set at $400,000 on the murder charge. His bond on the other charges was set at $120,000, but that amount includes two counts of attempted murder. He is represented by private attorney Jeffrey Smith, court records show.

Laura McKnight covers crime and breaking news for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune and can be reached at 504-655-6571 and lmcknight@nola.com with tips.

via nola.com
https://www.nola.com

Rontrell Keller, then 17, was arrested within days of the Jan. 9, 2019 shooting that fatally wounded a 19-year-old man as he sat on the porch of a Treme home and injured a 9-year-old boy. The 19-year-old victim, identified in court records as Webster Rainey, died in early February of complications from the gunshot wound to his abdomen. (Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office /)