Joseph Chambers was a high school senior striving to escape the treachery of north Baton Rouge’s streets with a pair of clippers and a dream of one day opening his own barbershop.
Jumal Andre Wells, 47, was a devout worshipper who loved the Dallas Cowboys and sang in the same Baptist church choir as his mother and sister.
Their worlds collided when Wells began dating Chambers’ mother. He entered their lives as a man of faith, and they began living under the same roof after the family moved out of a Merrydale apartment and into a four-bedroom house on Vancouver Drive.
Chambers saw that home, in a secluded area on Baton Rouge's eastern outskirts, as a refuge. He hoped Wells would be a better father figure than his actual father, who he witnessed abuse his mother throughout much of his childhood.
But over the course of a year, tensions grew behind closed doors, and it culminated in bloodshed in March 2021. Chambers shot and killed Wells when he refused to leave the home after the teen's mother ordered him to go.
Shattered hopes coincided with the deadly consequence of Chambers’ actions when his and Wells’ respective families sat inside the same Baton Rouge courtroom this week. District Judge Will Jorden ended an emotionally tangled case that rocked both families, sentencing Chambers to 25 years in prison for manslaughter in the slaying.
Jorden said the tragic incident illustrated the need for judges to intervene and hold more hearings in cases that involve brewing hostilities inside Baton Rouge homes.
“We don’t know what the hell we’re actually doing when we put our kids in these situations when we’re in these volatile relationships,” he said. “What are they actually seeing, what are they exposed to? And we allow folks to go back into these homes when a thing as simple as a hearing can give people a cooling-off period.”
A deadly family dispute
Court records indicate Wells was the live-in boyfriend of Lakisha Kador, Chambers’ mom, for about a year. East Baton Rouge sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a dispute at the family’s Vancouver Drive home around midnight the morning of March 19, 2021. Chambers and his sister said they begged deputies to remove Wells from the home. But according to an arrest report, he was still there when patrol deputies left the scene after “being assured” the dispute was settled. Deputies had to return to the home minutes later following reports of the shooting and found Wells dead in the master bedroom. Chambers, who was 18 at the time, told investigators he fired multiple gunshots at the victim during an argument that ensued after the original officers left.
Chambers was indicted on a charge of second-degree murder, and his trial began Jan. 22. He faced a mandatory life sentence if convicted of the charge. Attorneys spent two days selecting a jury and gave opening statements. But on the third day of the trial, when witness testimony was set to begin, Chambers accepted a plea deal for a reduced charge of manslaughter. Prosecutors agreed to cap the potential prison stint at 25 years in exchange for his guilty plea.
During the April 9 sentencing hearing, trial attorney Ron Haley said he was confident in Chambers’ chances for acquittal, but understood his decision.
“Had it been my choice, Mr. Chambers would not have pled guilty to manslaughter. That was his choice,” he said, asking the judge to take the totality of the circumstances into account. “The weight of a potential life sentence was too much for this 21-year-old to bear. And that pressure broke him.”
Several of Wells’ relatives who testified during the sentencing hearing asked the judge to sentence Chambers to the maximum 25-year sentence without any possibility of an early release.
Family members fondly remembered Wells by his nickname “Black” and described him as a loving and charismatic man who was an active member of the choir at Greater New Galilee Baptist Church. Now his preteen son will have to grow up without a father, they indicated.
“We can’t sing together anymore. We can’t do family things together,” his cousin, Pam Warner, said through tears. “This tragic event has just devastated us to the point that we are Christian-based people, but we have a lot of anger that we’re trying to work through. And I know that can take time.”
Wells loved and coach football and basketball, was known for his seafood boils and mentored youth in the Scotlandville neighborhood, his family told the judge.
“He was kind, he was genuine and loving,” according to his mother, Letha Mae Wheeler. “We are no longer able to receive that from him because of Joseph Chambers’ decision to take his life from his family, his friends and his church members. His dreams, his hopes and his ambitions can no longer be fulfilled because his life was cut short.
“This was a senseless murder that could have been avoided if his (Chambers’) mother had only called me, and not her family,” she added.
'Back against the wall'
Chambers said Wells had a different side behind closed doors, one that caused friction within their shared family home. He described hiding out in his bedroom for days at a time to avoid conflicts in a household he characterized as a “bad situation” that he couldn’t navigate his way out of.
“Nobody knew what I was going through,” he said. “I hope you can see the position I was put in, your honor. I just felt like my back was against the wall.”
His sister, Tryan Kador, described the trauma of growing up seeing their mother regularly “dragged, punched” and abused for years by their father, indicating they felt that same helplessness the night of the shooting.
“That night, we called the police. We begged and we pleaded for them to remove (Jumal),” Kador said.
Chambers was a senior at Scotlandville High School at the time, and relatives said he often cut hair in his neighborhood for Easter and other holidays as a way to give back to the community. His family described him as a heartfelt, compassionate and humble young man with a quiet, laid-back demeanor. His mother, Lakisha Kador, asked Jorden to give Chambers a second chance.
“I just ask you, judge, to show favor on my son because I promise you, he don’t deserve this,” she said. “Me personally, as a mom, I hold myself accountable for trusting a guy that I really thought loved me. I loved Jumal, don’t get me wrong, but I really thought he loved me. He didn’t love me, he preyed on me. He destroyed my family. My son never would’ve been in this predicament — NEVER — if he wasn’t trying to protect his family.”
An emotional Chambers Judge Jorden he had run out of answers the night Wells refused to leave the home.
“I was scared. I called for help. I just wish somebody would’ve helped me at that time,” Chambers said. “I’d never thought I would be in this predicament right now. I was expecting to be finished with school by now and opening a barbershop. But, you know, life is tricky.”
Jorden agreed that Chambers is a “good kid,” but said the in-home turmoil was “already too far gone” by the night of the shooting.
The judge cautioned against blaming deputies for the slaying or assigning any culpability to Chamber’s mother. He ruled that Chambers, believing Wells was a threat to his mother, likely reflected on the past abuses he had witnessed and “flashed out” to protect her.
However, evidence in the case indicated Wells was unarmed and posed no lethal threat when Chambers followed him into the bedroom with a gun and shot him, according to Jorden. Court records show no indications Wells was arrested or convicted of any domestic-related charges in the year leading up to the shooting.
“You must be punished for this action, irrespective of the circumstances that you found yourself in,” the judge said, acknowledging he was moved by Chambers’ testimony. “It’s unfair. And I considered all of these mitigation (factors) that were provided. Absolutely considered that. But it would be unfair to the community at-large to know that an unjustified murder can go without being punished.”
“While I do see you as a human being who was put in a very unfair and unattainable situation, I think that the only just sentence right now is to sentence you to 25 years in the Department of Corrections,” Jorden added moments later.
Jorden sentenced Chambers with the possibility of parole. According to state law, he will be eligible for early release after he serves 65% of his prison stint, which is little more than 16 years.