On the night of August 8, 2009, Patrice Comadore was in her New Orleans home with her sister and a friend, as well as her four children. Two armed men, with bandanas over their faces, kicked in the front door. They were described as an older man and a younger man. The three women were in different rooms of the house. They were ordered to the floor, face down. The men entered Ms. Comadore’s bedroom, where a struggle ensued. She was shot in the head. The younger perpetrator was wounded, as well. Comadore’s sister claimed that the younger man’s bandana slipped, so she was able to get a look at his face. The women were robbed and the police were called after the men fled the scene.
Shortly after, police were notified that an 18-year-old named Jessie Bibbins had been shot about three miles away. Bibbins was found on the front steps of a house, dead from a gunshot wound to the right side of his neck. A bandana was around his neck and his clothing was consistent with the descriptions given by the women in the Comadore’s home. A bloody white shirt was found by his side. A witness at the second scene told police that a man with dreads had dropped off the body, tried to help Bibbins for a short while, then drove off. Evidence collected included a handgun, spent casings, a gun clip with cartridges, a bloody plastic glove from next to Bibbins, and the bloody white t-shirt that had been used to try to stop bleeding. One of the women at the first scene identified Kendale Gordon from a photographic lineup, claiming that Mr. Gordon was the younger perpetrator who’d been wounded at the scene of the murder. Mr. Gordon was 18 years old at the time. This witness wound up disavowing her identification of Mr. Gordon, stating under oath several times that she’d made a mistake. She’d realized that the younger perpetrator must have been Bibbins. Despite those recantations, Mr. Gordon was convicted in June 2010, after a bench trial, of second-degree murder and sentenced to life.
Innocence & Justice Louisiana filed for post-conviction DNA testing in 2019. None of the evidence tested linked Mr. Gordon to either scene. He was excluded from both male DNA profiles on the bloody white t-shirt. Other unearthed evidence included Mr. Gordon’s booking photo, which depicted a tight hair style, not dreads. Witnesses established that Mr. Gordon and Mr. Bibbins did not know each other. The witness who’d initially identified Mr. Gordon continued to maintain that she’d mistakenly identified Mr. Gordon. Finally, Innocence & Justice Louisiana’s post-conviction investigation revealed evidence that implicates known associates of Mr. Bibbins. The Orleans Parish District Attorney’s office joined our motion to vacate Mr. Gordon’s conviction. He was exonerated and released on December 16, 2021, over 12 years after his wrongful conviction.
