A man who allegedly opened fire at Mandina's Restaurant in Mid-City, killing a waiter and wounding a bystander, will remain jailed in New Orleans without bond, a magistrate judge ruled Monday.
Kyron Fazande, 22, was booked into the Orleans Justice Center in connection with the April 28 ambush at the storied Canal Street restaurant that killed waiter Hilbert Walker III, 23, and wounded a 54-year-old woman visiting from Chicago.
He was arrested for second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery. Surveillance video from the scene showed Fazande allegedly gunning down Walker at close range while Walker served a diner at a sidewalk table.
As customers at the crowded Mid-City eatery took cover, Fazande continued to shoot into Walker's collapsed body before fleeing in a getaway car with another assailant, who has not been booked.
Fazande also faces a murder charge in Houston. On May 6, he allegedly shot a 15-year-old boy to death in the parking lot of the apartment complex where he'd been hiding out after the Mandina's shooting, according to court documents.
Hilbert Walker III, shot dead outside Mandina's restaurant in New Orleans on Friday, April 28, 2023, is shown in an undated photograph provided by his family.
Even if the judge had agreed to set a bail, it is unlikely that Fazande could have bonded out before his murder trial because of a parole violation. At the time of the alleged Mandina's shooting, Fazande was on probation for a felony conviction after shooting up two vehicles — including one occupied by two women — in a Jan. 28, 2021 gun battle in St. Bernard Parish.
Fazande also would have faced extradition to Texas to face the murder charge in Fort Bend County.
At his bond hearing, Orleans Parish District Assistant District Attorney Abigail MacDonald said Fazande's probation officer made contact with him after he became a person of interest in the killings. But Fazande did not provide any information to, nor did he meet with, that probation officer.
MacDonald argued that Fazande should be held without bond under article 312, section 2A — the "Gwen's Law" article.
Although defense attorney Walker Rick argued that Fazande's alleged crimes don't fall under that article, which pertains to domestic abuse, magistrate commissioner Jonathan Friedman sided with prosecutors and ordered Fazande to be held without bond.
A convicted felon who allegedly gunned down a waiter outside the legendary Mandina’s restaurant in Mid-City is accused of committing another m…
