New Orleans Police Department, Louisiana
End of Watch: Friday, November 9, 2007
Age: 47
Tour of Duty: 19 years
Badge Number: 2285
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: October 13, 2007
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Sentenced to 30 years
Police Officer Thelonious Dukes was shot and killed during an off duty police action taken against a robbery suspect.
Officer Dukes was working on his motorcycle in the driveway of his home when he was approached by several armed subjects. The men ordered Officer Dukes at gunpoint into the house and woke up his wife. They forced the couple into the bathroom and made them kneel on the ground, where they demanded money and jewelry. One subject threatened Officer Dukes' wife, prompting the officer to draw a gun and open fire. Officer Dukes was shot in his lower torso and leg in the exchange of gunfire, and his wife was struck in the foot. The subjects fled the location.
Officer Dukes was transported to the hospital where he remained until succumbing to his wounds one month later.
On March 16, 2012, a federal prison inmate, 27, serving a five year sentence since 2008 for a weapons violation, was charged with five murders in New Orleans. One was the murder of Officer Dukes. A month after Officer Duke's murder two men were apprehended. One was released and the other, 22, was jailed for murder. On December 19, 2013, a plea bargain was accepted and the federal inmate was sentenced to 30 years. The victim's family members as well as others were very disappointed but prosecutors said they had no choice. Charges against the other suspect were dropped. Only the killer knows how many were with him when Officer Dukes was killed. Evidence supports that one with him was one of the five he killed. No others were arrested.
Officer Dukes had served with the New Orleans Police Department for 19 years. He is survived by his wife and three children.