Attempted murder defendant pleads to assault charge

Alton Kemp Jr., originally charged with two counts of attempted murder in a March 2014 shooting in Morgan City, pleaded down to aggravated assault Friday after one of the victims said Kemp wasn’t the shooter.Kemp, 29, of Verdunville, pleaded guilty Friday in 16th Judicial District Court, Assistant District Attorney Anthony Saleme said.
As part of Kemp’s plea agreement, Kemp was ordered to serve six months in the parish jail, according to clerk of court records.
The district attorney originally charged him with two counts of attempted second-degree murder, according to St. Mary Parish Clerk of Court records.
One of the alleged victims, Lawrence Blackburn, was killed in a shootout in Baton Rouge after a standoff with police and the other alleged victim, Kemp’s uncle, Dwayne Clark, indicated that Kemp didn’t shoot him.
According to a request to drop charges, Clark stated that Kemp didn’t shoot him, but Blackburn did shoot him.
“Alton Kemp saved my life from Lawrence Blackburn killing me and I’m asking that his charges that they have on him be dropped,” Clark stated in the request.
Because of Blackburn’s death and Clark’s request to drop the charges against Kemp, Saleme said those reasons “left us not a whole lot to work with at that point.”
Blackburn, 37, of Morgan City, wanted by Lafayette police for first-degree murder stemming from a July 27 shooting, was killed July 29 in Baton Rouge after exchanging gunfire with a U.S. Marshal’s task force, according to Baton Rouge police. Blackburn was wanted on a warrant charging him with first-degree murder in connection with a July 27 shooting that left Dravin Stevenson, 18, of Lafayette, dead and another man injured.
On March 31, 2014, Morgan City police officers received a report of three shots being fired in the Railroad Avenue and Oak Street area, according to an affidavit.
Officers went to Teche Regional Medical Center to speak to a shooting victim, Clark, being treated for a gunshot wound to the chest, the affidavit said. Clark said that while sitting on the porch of his home, he saw a person wearing a black hooded sweatshirt walking along Railroad Avenue toward 11th Street.
Clark followed the man to 11th Street when he saw Blackburn’s car parked along 11th Street near Railroad Avenue, the affidavit said. When Clark asked the man his name, the man said his name was “black,” the affidavit stated.
While asking the man his name, Blackburn got out of his car and identified himself to Clark, the affidavit said. Clark said he noticed “black” had a gun pointed at him, and Clark raised his hands to protect his face, the affidavit said. Clark was then shot, fell down and heard further gunshots, the affidavit stated.
Clark heard the shooter say “I’m gonna kill you.” After firing shots, the shooter ran from the scene and Clark ran back to his home, the affidavit said.
Clark couldn’t see the shooter’s face “but knew that he was a black male, and that he believed he had seen the subject before.”
Investigators also learned that a Clarence Francois had taken Blackburn to the hospital. Before the shooting, Francois said Blackburn had picked up Francois to go get cigarettes from the store, according to the affidavit. Once they got to the area of Railroad Avenue and 11th Street, Francois said Blackburn saw Clark and another man named “Mikey.”
Blackburn took off his shirt as if he was going to fight “Mikey,” at which time “Mikey” produced a pistol and started firing, the affidavit stated. Francois said “Mikey” was the only person who had a gun at the scene. The next day, police received an anonymous tip indicating that “Mikey’s” real name was Alton Kemp Jr.
During the alleged incident, Francois said “Mikey” produced a gun from his shorts and started shooting, the affidavit stated.
Blackburn then returned to his car and told Francois he’d been shot. Francois eventually identified Kemp as having been the shooter, the affidavit said.

This story was written by Zachary Fitzgerald of The Daily Review staff. Reach him at zfitzgerald@daily-review.com.