New Orleans Man Gets 20-Year Sentence in Willie Mae’s Fatal Shooting

A New Orleans man, 35-year-old Wilson Allen, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Monday by Orleans Parish Criminal District Judge Marcus DeLarge after accepting a plea deal for his role in a March 2023 shooting outside the former Willie Mae’s Scotch House on the 2400 block of St. Ann Street in the Treme neighborhood. The shooting left 30-year-old Carneal Knapper Jr. dead at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.

Prosecutors and court filings described a chaotic confrontation that began when Allen allegedly took a bag Knapper had left on top of a trash can outside the restaurant. “Allen didn't pull the trigger to kill Knapper, but the judge said he ignited a violent standoff when he stole a bag that Knapper had left outside the restaurant,” reporting from WWL said. Security camera footage cited in affidavits reportedly showed an employee take Knapper's bag and put it into a vehicle.

Court and law-enforcement accounts of the scene detailed two employees and one visitor present and multiple firearms. A WWL headline summarized the scene as including “2 employees, 1 visitor, 3 pistols, a rifle and a missing bag.” An affidavit noted that during the confrontation a second employee grabbed a rifle but “didn't appear to shoot,” and officials have not publicly identified who fired the fatal rounds in the March 2023 encounter.

The 20-year prison term for Allen came under a plea agreement; the specific statutory counts Allen pleaded to were not listed in the reporting. Judge Marcus DeLarge imposed the sentence after the plea was entered in Criminal District Court.

The Willie Mae’s case spawned additional prosecutions linked to the same investigation. Authorities served a warrant on a defendant referred to in reporting only as “Davis” on the morning of May 8, 2023; Davis barricaded inside a house on the 1900 block of Annunciation Street and was taken into custody by a SWAT team and U.S. Marshals after a two-hour standoff. After a four-day trial in February 2025, a jury found Davis guilty of second-degree murder, armed robbery, obstruction of justice and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Other, unrelated plea outcomes noted in local coverage include a separate 20-year sentence for Jekym Dowell, 25, who pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter in the May 25, 2014 killing of 44-year-old Clarence Wilson. Defense attorney Andrew Bevinetto said, “I’m glad that we were able to come to an agreement that the victim’s family was happy with,” and, “Our firm was ready to vigorously defend Mr. Dowell in the case, but we believed it was in his best interest based upon a number of factors to take the deal that the state offered.” Federal reporting separately noted a plea deal calling for 30 years for Steven Earl Hardrick for his alleged role in five killings in 2007, including the shooting of an off-duty police officer.

Security camera evidence and affidavit descriptions anchored the prosecutions arising from the March 2023 Willie Mae’s shooting; Allen’s plea and 20-year sentence resolve his part of the case while other defendants tied to the same episodes have faced trials and convictions.