BATON ROUGE - Former Baton Rouge District Judge Mike Erwin died at the age of 72. Erwin served as one of Baton Rouge's longest-serving judges.

District Attorney Hillar Moore made the announcement Saturday. According to Moore, Judge Erwin died of what is believed to be natural causes.

Here's Hillar Moore's statement on Erwin's passing:

"Mike Erwin was a true friend to many people down to his last breath. I’m fortunate to have known him and was one of his good friends. We first met at LSU and later met again when I became an investigator for the DA and he became an assistant DA.

He was the main person who encouraged me to attend law school and directed me to the Southern Law Center where he graduated.

Mike was a great Ada who was especially talented as a trial lawyer and arguing to the jury

He was one of the brightest men I have ever known. As a judge, he had the ability to “cut to the chase” on complicated legal issues. As a judge, he raised several generations of young lawyers of every race, religion, gender, etc. He was always available for any lawyer on all cases.

Mike was also a tremendous athlete in high school and later as a softball player and an avid golfer.

He loved sports, particularly Southern and LSU. He lived and died purple and gold, especially football and baseball. He also was a huge fan of the New York Yankees".