Five gang members were given life sentences in the killing of Eugene Jarreau III in Louisiana. The victim’s sister, pictured left, spoke after the sentencing as one of the killers, in an orange jail jumpsuit is escorted into a police vehicle, right. (Screenshots from WAFB/YouTube)
Five gang members were sentenced to life for shooting a man 21 times with a rifle and three different pistols in a nighttime ambush at his home in Louisiana over gang disrespect.
The men, members of the Young and Wreckless gang, learned their fate this week in the Jan. 21, 2021, murder of Eugene Jarreau, III. A jury took one hour and 8 minutes to find them guilty on Feb. 8 in the 18th Judicial District Court in Pointe Coupee Parish, prosecutors said.
“We are sending the message that if you are involved in gang activity, even if you are not the shooter, you will be prosecuted,” District Attorney Tony Clayton said. “We are coming after you and we will prosecute to the fullest extent possible.”
Tyzontae J. Davis, 24; Tyler T. Breaux, 21; Nicholas C. Johnson, 22; Dequan D. Johnson, 24; Marlon D. Jones, III, 25; and Dequan “Quarter Baby” Johnson were found guilty of second-degree murder. Davis also was found guilty of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Prosecutors said Johnson was the leader of the gang and orchestrated the killing. Armed with an AR rifle and three 9 mm pistols, the gang knocked on the door of Jarreau’s home just before 11 p.m. at 1418 Pennsylvania St., in New Roads, and fired a hail of bullets.
In their news release, prosecutors said they “annihilated the victim to death by shooting him 21 times.”
Disrespect was one motive, prosecutors said. But a second motive was revealed at trial — Jones’ sister had nearly died earlier that night from an overdose of pills she had gotten from the victim, authorities said.
Investigators linked the gang members to the murder through Instagram, phone records and jailhouse calls among the defendants. A gang expert also identified them through rap videos, tattoos, clothing, and rap sheets, prosecutors said.
Evidence from other crimes committed by members of the gang involving weapons used in multiple murders, including the Jarreau murder, matched each other, officials said.
The victim’s sister recalled her brother fondly and spoke about closure.
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