Mother of slain comedian ‘Boogie B.’ decries New Orleans’ inattention to youth, crime

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The mother of slain New Orleans-born comedian Brandon “Boogie B.” Montrell is lashing out at the city’s crime and leadership, days after her son was gunned down in the parking lot of a busy Warehouse District grocery store.

New Orleans police have identified four “persons of interest” they believe have information important to their investigation of the Dec. 23 fatal shooting, adding a woman named Tralana Humphrey to their list on Tuesday (Dec. 27). Police also are seeking a silver Nissan Altima with Louisiana license plate No. 488EXW, which investigators say “has been identified as the vehicle allegedly used by the perpetrators of this homicide.”

While Montrell’s mother Sherilyn Price is eager for an arrest to be made, she says problems behind the chronic crime in New Orleans need to be addressed.

“It’s not the erosion of the city, it’s the erosion of the community and the neglect,” Price told Fox 8 on Tuesday. “Not of the city and not of the tourists. The city has neglected its children.”

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Montrell’s “Hood History” series of comedic videos about New Orleans figures, places and culture had won him a large audience on social media. He most recently was pursuing his entertainment career in Los Angeles but had returned home for the holidays.

“He came home for what he said was the ‘Eating Holidays,’” Price said. “He told his grandmother he never ate unless he was in New Orleans.”

Family members said Montrell went Friday afternoon to the Rouses grocery store at 701 Baronne St. to buy groceries for his beloved grandmother, wanting to keep her from having to go out in the bitter cold.

“He was going to come straight here after that, but it didn’t work out,” Price said.

Montrell was killed in an exchange of gunfire that police said was not intended for him.

“I have no idea if he was the intended target or just collateral damage and an unintended victim … Either scenario is unacceptable,” said Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission.

Police gathered evidence from the crime scene, which extended from the grocery store parking lot to a home furnishing store across Girod Street, where a bullet pierced a window but fortunately hurt no one inside.

Price said her son, who had amassed more than 225,000 followers on TikTok, had been living in Woodland Hills, Calif., a Los Angeles suburb near Hollywood, and was working on a Netflix special. He had befriended several celebrities during his career, including legendary comedian Dick Gregory and hip-hop mogul Master P.

Now, Price is left planning a funeral and Second Line for her son, taken far too soon on what was supposed to be a joyous holiday visit home.

Price said Montrell will be buried in a new Saints jersey, a Christmas present he never had a chance to open.

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