Louisiana mother considered restraining order against man accused of killing her execution-style

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE/Gray News) - A desk at the First City Court in New Orleans sat empty Tuesday after Casandra Jones was killed by a man she reportedly considered filing a restraining order against.

WVUE obtained a copy of the 25-page temporary restraining order that Jones filed in May but never showed up in court to follow through on. It alleges BJ Brown punched, choked, shoved, kicked, threatened, intimidated and sexually abused her, along with mental, emotional and financial abuse.

It details an early morning incident on April 27 around 3:30 a.m. when Brown allegedly came over and they began to fight.

Jones said she told him to get out, and he hit her with a belt several times, bruising her. 911 was called, and Jones said Brown punched her and threw her to the ground, stomping on her.

Once police arrived, she said Brown jumped off her upstairs balcony to escape.

After the officers left, she said he got back into her apartment where they continued to fight, and he tried to smother her with a pillow.

She also alleged there was another occasion where she confronted him about cheating on her, and he punched her, knocking her teeth out.

Brown has a lengthy criminal history, spanning more than a decade across several parishes. Most of the charges come from St. John the Baptist, where he had been arrested more than 10 times over the past 10 years.

He’s been arrested at least twice for domestic abuse battery. Court records show Jones as the victim of at least one of these incidents. Both times the charges were dropped by the victim.

Some of the other common charges were simple robbery, battery and assault, along with resisting an officer and flight from an officer. There’s even one charge of injuring or killing a police animal, along with various drug charges.

Many times, he appears to have been arrested with outstanding warrants.

The First City Clerk of Court, Austin Badon, said Jones was leaving her house, headed for work, and that’s when suspect Brown shot her just before 9:30 a.m. Monday.

Cell phone video of her execution-style killing was widely shared on social media.

In the harrowing video, a man believed to be Brown walks over to Jones after she’s shot and nearly dead in the apartment parking lot and fires two more rounds into her body.

“Walked down the street with a gun, a long gun, without any fear of repercussions and shoots someone for whatever reason in broad daylight,” Badon said. “Seemingly, this individual walked away and came back and finished her off.”

After the shooting, Brown fled to Tennessee where he reportedly shot a cop during a traffic stop and escaped into the woods. The New Orleans Police Department obtained an arrest warrant for Brown for second-degree murder.

Badon says Jones had domestic issues with Brown and even considered filing a temporary restraining order against him.

“We spoke about it, and I told her she had my full support, and I encouraged her to go through with it, but I believe she decided not to,” he said.

Actor and mentor Ameer Baraka says the video shows Brown hunting down his victim.

“This generation has no fear. ... They have no fear,” Baraka said. “Animals don’t do this. This is barbaric. This is inhuman behavior. It is pure evil to do something like that.”

Badon, like others, is upset that the brutal killing was circulated on social media.

“What did we come to as a society when we put that stuff out there on social media?” he asked. “It’s just heartbreaking that instead of rendering aid and help, people decided to pull out their phones and put that stuff out there.”

Jones leaves behind two children. She’s described as being a hard worker, only trying to provide for her family.

“Her future has now been cut short,” Badon said. “Now she’s a statistic for gun violence and domestic violence.”

A manhunt is underway in the small city of Erin, Tennessee, about 65 miles west of Nashville.

Brown is considered armed and dangerous. If you know anything about his whereabouts, you’re asked to call the police.

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