May was another busy month in our Caddo Parish courts. Here are some cases of note:
* On May 12, at Caddo Parish Juvenile Court, 16-year-old DaJuan Hayes pleaded guilty to armed robbery in an April carjacking incident. (Armed robbery is a crime of violence which by statute is public even though it was held in juvenile court.) The victim had given Hayes a ride, and then Hayes threatened him with a firearm and demanded the victim’s vehicle. The victim complied; SPD located the vehicle a short while later, and after a brief foot pursuit apprehended Hayes.
Chief Juvenile Judge Ree Casey-Jones sentenced Hayes to the maximum sentence of “juvenile life,” which will be to his 21st birthday in Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice custody.
Assistant District Attorney Jerry Deason prosecuted the case. Hayes was represented by public defender Ross Shacklette.
* On May 20, the Caddo Parish Grand Jury returned true bills that included several that are shocking in that they allege a Shreveport woman was involved in the fire-related deaths of two young girls who were her own granddaughters.
Rita Ann Spearman Montgomery, 51, faces two second-degree murder charges, which upon conviction carry mandatory life prison sentences, in connection with the deaths of sisters Aaliyah Robinson, 8, and Danielle Spearman, 5, as the result of a fire at a residence in the 3100 block of Milton Street in the Queensborough neighborhood on October 13, 2025. Danielle Spearman succumbed to her injuries October 18, 2025, and Aaliyah Robinson succumbed to her injuries October 19, 2025.
Other felony charges in the indictment are two counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated arson, and two charges of the manufacture and possession of delayed action incendiary devices.
Montgomery also is charged with felony prohibited acts and sanctions and a final misdemeanor charge for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. A teen and relative of the two victims, was initially arrested October 24, 2025, by Shreveport Police but was not true-billed by the November 2025 Grand Jury session.
According to prosecutors, the home subject to the arson investigation was affected by two separate fires — one at the rear of the residence that occurred just before midnight on October 12, 2025, and the fatal fire that occurred at the front of the residence at approximately 1:45 A.M. on October 13, 2025. The teen and the two minor victims lived in the house with approximately 10 other people. Investigators relied upon video surveillance retrieved from the home of a neighbor in their homicide investigation. The surveillance showed the initial fire being set on October 12, 2025, but it did not reveal the identification or the gender of the person setting the fire. There is no video of the fire set at the front of the residence that resulted in the deaths of the two minor children.
Montgomery is charged under indictment No. 414717.
The remaining indictments handed up are companion cases but are not directly related to the fire. They are:
Alonzo Cooksey, 45, of Shreveport, is charged with felony prohibited activities and sanctions, as well as misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of juveniles. His indictment is No. 414712.
Bobby Dupree Grant, 36, of Shreveport, is charged with misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of juveniles, in indictment No. 414731.
Sherika Spearman, 34, of Shreveport, is charged with misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of juveniles, in indictment No. 414739.
* A man who killed one person and wounded another outside a downtown Shreveport nightclub with an illegal weapon in 2023 must serve life in prison, with another 55 years tacked on for good measure, a Shreveport judge ruled May 27.
The life sentence is mandatory under state law and must be served without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. The discretion to punctuate that life term with additional years was exercised by District Judge Chris Victory, who heaped the years on Brandon Lawayne Batiste, 32. Batiste was found guilty-as-charged of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm April 30 in Judge Victory’s court.
On July 15, 2023, Batiste shot and killed John Ruffin Jr., 41, outside the Phoenix Nightclub in the 100 block of Travis Street. His intended victim that evening was Bryson Turner, who was wounded. Batiste has a 2014 conviction for aggravated assault with a firearm and thus was prohibited from possessing a handgun at the time of Phoenix shootings.
For Batiste’s conviction of attempted Second-Degree Murder, Judge Victory decreed 40 years at hard labor, without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. For possession of firearm by convicted felon, Batiste must serve 15 years at hard labor, also without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. The sentences are to be service consecutively.
Batiste was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys William J. Edwards and Courtney N. Ray. He was defended by Michael Enright and Carter Lawrence.
The case was docket No. 396444.
* A Shreveport man convicted of illegal possession of a firearm and unauthorized use of a stolen vehicle earlier this year must serve 60 years in prison as a habitual offender, District Judge Donald E. Hathaway Jr. ordered May 20.
Jamaria Cornelious, 30, was convicted February 24 of one count of felon in possession of a firearm and one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. This was in connection with an October 8, 2024 incident at the Sonic Restaurant in the 7100 block of Mansfield Road. Shreveport police responded to reports of a suspicious person. The defendant, subsequently identified as Cornelious, attempted to drive away when the officer arrived. The officer blocked the only entry to the parking lot. When the officer asked the driver to step out of his vehicle, the driver abruptly put the car in reverse and fled to the rear of the lot. As the officer approached a second time, the driver sped to the front of the parking lot and attempted to jump a curb, rendering the car undrivable. He then was handcuffed and taken into custody.
When police searched the car, they found a Glock handgun underneath the front passenger seat. Based on Cornelious’ own statements, prosecutors proved he knew about the handgun, and were also able to show that his explanation of the presence of the gun did not match testimony of a family member who testified that the gun had fallen from his pocket earlier in the evening. Prosecutors also were able to establish Cornelious had been convicted of indecent behavior with a juvenile in 2015 and illegal use of a weapon in 2014. Cornelious also had been convicted of attempted possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in 2020 in Bossier Parish.
Investigation also revealed that the car involved had been stolen. At the time of his arrest, Cornelious told the arresting officer he did not know who owned the car, which made it impossible for him to have permission to use it.
Following the February convictions, prosecutors filed a Habitual Offender Bill seeking to have Cornelious sentenced under harsher provisions. At a habitual offender hearing in March, the court found that he was a second-time felony offender with the firearm possession charge and a fourth-time felony offender with respect to the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle charge. Therefore he faced up to 40 years on the gun conviction and 20 years to life for unauthorized use.
At Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Judge Hathaway sentenced Cornelious to the maximum of 40 years on the firearm conviction and to the minimum 20 years for unauthorized use with the sentences to be served consecutively, for a total of 60 years.
Assistant District Attorneys Christopher S. Bowman and Jason Waltman prosecuted Cornelious. He was defended by David Shepherd.
The case was docket No. 404576.
* A Shreveport man whose criminal past prevents him from owning of possessing a firearm was found guilty May 15.
The 10-woman, two-man jury in District Judge Donald Hathaway Jr.’s court deliberated 41 minutes before returning its unanimous guilty-as-charged of possession of a firearm by a felon verdict against Patrick Williams II, 40.
Over the course of the trial, jurors learned that on May 3, 2025, a Shreveport police officer made a traffic stop on a Hyundai Elantra for following too closely to another vehicle and failing to signal a turn. During the stop, the officer noticed the odor of marijuana and alcohol coming from the car. During a standard search of the vehicle while looking for narcotics, the officer found a Ruger 9mm pistol within arm’s reach of the center console under the media player. Williams, the driver, admitted after he was detained that he had the firearm for 15 years. Williams has prior convictions of possession with intent to distribute a Schedule I controlled dangerous substance as well as a prior felon in possession of a firearm charge, both of which prohibit him from possessing a firearm.
When Williams returns to court June 9, for sentencing, he faces at least five and up to 20 years in prison at hard labor.
Williams was prosecuted by Chase Burgess and Jason Waltman, The was represented by the Caddo Parish Indigent Defender’s office.
The case was docket No. 408452.
* A Shreveport man who was a teen at the time of his crime was found guilty of second-degree murder Friday, May 15, 2026, in Caddo District Court.
Mark D. White, 20, was found guilty-as-charged of shooting and killing 19-year-old DeAnthony Johnson February 7, 2023, by the seven-woman, five-man jury in District Judge Ramona Emanuel’s court.
Over the course of the trial, jurors learned that on that morning, White was a passenger in a Camaro at Union Avenue and 69th Street across the street from the Goodwill outlet, while Mr. Johnson was riding his bike down Union. Gunshots were fired from the Camaro, with at least 28 shell casings found, 17 of which belonged to the weapon White was determined to have possessed. The Camaro and its occupants immediately sped off and led police on a high-speed chase that led into Bossier Parish where the Camaro crashed. White and the vehicle’s driver were captured after the crash. White was 17 at the time. Mr. Johnson was struck once in the chest and once in the back and later succumbed to his injuries. Jurors heard 911 calls, a police interview, experts in fields that included DNA and firearms, and multiple Shreveport police officers.
White will return to Judge Emanuel’s court for sentencing June 16, where he faces a mandatory life prison term, but with the possibility of parole due to his age at the time of the slaying.
White was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Senae D. Hall and Kodie Smith. He was defended by Royal Alexander and Dave Knadler.
The case was docket No. 415620.
* A Keithville man was found guilty May 13 of aggravated rape and indecent behavior with juveniles.
The two-man, 10-woman jury in District Judge Donald E. Hathaway Jr.’s court deliberated less than two hours before returning its unanimous verdict against Calvin Lewis, 62, for his acts against the victims, both under the age of 13 when assaulted.
Over the course of the trial, prosecutors called five witnesses to prove that the defendant inappropriately touched an 11-year old relative in 2022 and repeatedly raped another relative from 1990 to 1993, beginning when the victim was 9. In 2024, Detective Ray Saunders of the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s office began an investigation of Lewis in the indecent behavior case. In the course of that investigation, Det. Saunders discovered that Lewis had engaged in inappropriate sexual contact with another juvenile relative in the early 1990s. The victim in the earlier case had reported being raped to multiple family members, but authorities never were contacted. Lewis ultimately was arrested in May 2024 and indicted that August. Following his arrest, an investigator with the Caddo DA’s Special Victims Unit discovered several jail phone calls Lewis made to his wife following his arrest. In the calls he can be heard asking his wife to pay the victim in the rape case $2,000 and give her a Chevy Malibu to get her to sign an affidavit saying she did not want him to be prosecuted. There was no indication that Lewis’s wife ever attempted to act on that request; however, jurors were allowed to hear calls in which Lewis attempted to orchestrate a conspiracy to bribe the victim. Additionally, the jury heard him suggest to his wife that the rape victim needed to “forgive and let it go.”
When Lewis returns to Judge Hathaway’s court June 9, he faces a mandatory life term without possibility of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence for the aggravated rape conviction. He also faces up to 25 years in prison for the indecent behavior conviction.
Assistant District Attorneys Jason Waltman and Christopher S. Bowman prosecuted the case. Harry Johnson and Hillary Hileman defended Lewis.
The case was docket No. 401776.
* A woman who shot and killed her boyfriend almost three years ago was found guilty May 11 in a bench trial.
District Judge John D. Mosely Jr. found Carlisia Manshan Clark, 28, guilty of manslaughter in connection with the August 2023 shooting death of Xamien Davis, 39. Clark and the victim had dated off and on for several years.
Evidence presented at trial established that on August 4, 2023, Clark retrieved her 9mm weapon from a bedroom closet and shot Davis once in the right side of his head. In all, Clark fired the gun six times, with one round striking a wall in her children’s bedroom and traveling into an adjacent apartment.
The Court heard testimony from law enforcement officers, a crime scene investigator, a forensic medical examiner and a 911 operator. Prosecutors also introduced physical evidence that included shell casings, projectile defects throughout the apartment and the weapon used in the shooting.
In rendering his verdict, Judge Mosely specifically referenced the importance of autopsy findings and the 911 call that began before the shooting and lasted until after the victim was shot. The recording provided a real-time account of the escalating events of the shooting.
This case highlights the devastating impact that domestic violence and escalating conflict can have on individuals and families. Our office remains committed to pursuing justice through evidence, accountability, and a careful application of the law.
When Clark returns to Judge Mosely’s court for sentencing June 10, she faces up to 40 years in prison at hard labor.
Clark was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Britney A. Green and Ron Christopher Stamps of our Special Victims Unit. She was defended by Keith Whiddon, Sean Fore and Mandi Malcolm.
The case was docket No. 401075.
