Bogalusa Man Convicted of Murdering Victim During Robbery

District Attorney Collin Sims reports that on August 29, 2025, a Washington Parish jury found 49-year-old Freddie McGowan of Bogalusa guilty on charges of second degree murder, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.  Assistant District Attorneys Jay Adair and Iain Dover presented the case to the jury with Judge William H. Burris presiding over the four-day trial.  Captain David Miller and Lieutenant Casey Hidalgo led the investigation for the Bogalusa Police Department.

According to testimony during the trial, officers with the Bogalusa Police Department responded to an address on Second Avenue on the morning of June 15, 2022, after receiving notification of an unresponsive male subject at the residence.  Inside the residence, officers found 50-year-old Travis Davis lying face down on the floor.  Upon closer examination, it was determined Davis had suffered a fatal gunshot wound to his head.  Officers spoke to a male present on the scene who said he had arrived at the victim’s residence that morning and found Davis on the floor, motionless.

Sources told detectives Davis was last seen in the company of Teratha Johnson.  Detectives located and interviewed Johnson.  During questioning, she initially denied any knowledge of the incident but eventually admitted to being present when Davis was killed.  She fingered the defendant Freddie McGowan as the shooter, saying the two of them had planned a robbery of Davis and intended to split the proceeds. 

Johnson told detectives she waited until Davis fell asleep and then called McGowan and told him he could come to the residence.  When McGowan arrived, he had three other individuals with him: Michael James, Christopher Ramsey and Errica Ramsey.  McGowan entered Davis’s bedroom and approached the sleeping victim.  When McGowan began searching his pockets for money, Davis awakened and tried to fight off McGowan. McGowan then shot Davis in the head.  The other subjects rummaged through Davis’s possessions, looking for things to steal.  All subjects then fled the scene, leaving Davis lying on the floor, mortally wounded.

Detectives obtained a warrant for McGowan’s arrest and located him at his residence on St. Louis Street.  During the course of arresting McGowan, detectives seized his cell phone from his residence.  Later analysis of the cell phone’s data indicated it was at or near the victim’s residence at the time of the murder.  McGowan was questioned about the murder and denied any knowledge. 

Accomplices Johnson and James testified during McGowan’s trial.  They said when Davis attempted to fend McGowan off during the attack, McGowan pulled out a gun and fired a shot.  The bullet passed through Davis’s hand before striking him in the head. 

A witness who lived near the victim also testified.  The neighbor described seeing McGowan park his car and approach the victim’s residence on the night of the murder.  Shortly thereafter, McGowan and several other individuals were seen running to McGowan’s car and driving off.

At the conclusion of the trial, McGowan testified.  As he had done when questioned by detectives, he denied any involvement in the crime and claimed he never left his residence that night.  He had no explanation for the cell phone data and witness testimony that incriminated him.

The jury returned its guilty verdicts after deliberating for approximately two hours.  McGowan is set for sentencing on September 22, 2025.  He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison on the second degree murder charge, up to 49½ years in prison on the conspiracy to commit armed robbery charge and up to 20 years in prison on the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon charge.  He has prior convictions for aggravated battery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and 9 drug-related offenses.