15-02-2025
Second defendant in robbery turned homicide found guilty, awaits life sentence
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The co-defendant of a man sentenced to life in prison for a December 2021 homicide was found guilty of second-degree murder.
According to the Caddo Parish District Attorney's Office, Darius Persley, 25, was found guilty of second-degree murder by a unanimous jury on Thursday, February 13, 2025.
During the trial, 11 witnesses testified to the events on December 21, 2021, outside of the home of the victim, Chavez Parker's house, in the 6600 block of Melara Avenue, where Persley arranged to meet Parker under the pretext of smoking marijuana.
Shreveport police investigation revealed that Parker and his co-defendant Quinton Peace, who was convicted during his trial in November 2023, were planning a robbery.
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A series of text messages showed that Persley told Peace that they would get firearms for the robbery and that he did not want Peace to bring anyone with him who would say anything if they had to kill someone.
Parker was shot four times, once in the cheek, once in the neck, once in the temple, and once in the shoulder, and North Louisiana Crime Lab Firearms analyst Phillip Stout testified that two separate firearms of the same brand fired the shots. Additionally, a pathologist at Ochsner LSU Health, Dr. Long Jin, testified that a fatal shot came from each firearm.
Witness testimony revealed that the perpetrators made an interesting decision: they returned to the scene out of concern that they had left behind physical evidence that could link them to the murder. Approximately 10 minutes after the fatal shooting, Persley dropped Peace off, got into the victim's car, and drove it to the Linwood Home Apartments. However, he could not move the victim from the driver's seat into the passenger's seat, so he drove approximately 2.2 miles while sitting in the dead man's lap.
Police officers on a proactive patrol caught Persley and Peace while attempting to wipe the car down in the Linwood Home Apartments parking lot.
A DNA analyst from the crime lab testified that a cloth ski mask found in Parker's car contained Persley's DNA.
During Peace's trial in November 2023, prosecutors played a statement made by Peace to SPD, admitting that he and Persley planned to rob Parker of his marijuana. He also stated he and the Persley were armed with 9mm handguns. However, this evidence was not played during Persley's trial because when Peace was called to testify, he disrupted proceedings by cursing at prosecutors and refusing to answer questions.
Peace was sentenced to life in prison and found guilty of seven separate counts of contempt of court, which will be added to his current sentence and run consecutively.
Persley will be sentenced on February 24, 2025. Under Louisiana law, a mandatory sentence for second-degree murder, which is life in prison without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence, will be imposed.
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