Sentencing of mandatory life in prison set for April 22

JENNINGS — A man is guilty of second-degree murder in the death of a Welsh man who was gunned down outside his home after taking his dog outside, a jury decided Thursday.

Trevonte “Tank” Talbert, 23, was unanimously convicted in the January 2018 shooting death of Nehemiah Gray, 25, of Welsh.

The jury returned its verdict after deliberating for just over two hours following a three-day trial in the 31st Judicial District Court.

Talbert now faces a mandatory life in prison sentence. Sentencing is set for 9 a.m. April 22.

“Justice has been served,” the victim’s aunt Norrice Miller of Lake Charles said. “That’s all we wanted was for justice to be served, and it has been.”

She said the family is glad the trial is over.

Gray sustained five gunshot wounds to the head, chest, arms and legs, Dr. Terry Welke, forensic pathologist with the Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office testified. He was found dead under a carport of a nearby residence after running from his home.

Investigators recovered more than 20 shell casing and projectiles from three firearms extending from Welsh and Coleman streets. Bullets were also recovered from a residence on Coleman Street.

Talbert’s attorney Elbert Guillory, in his closing argument, contended that the state did not prove Talbert was the shooter because no witness saw him do it or identified him as the murderer. He said the state did not have a gun, fingerprints or DNA linking Talbert to the crime.

“Something is fishy,” Guillory said. “Something doesn’t seem right about this. If three people were arrested for the crime and now we just have Trevonte. Everybody’s gone and all fingers are pointing at him.”

Prosecutor Kevin Millican argued that the evidence indicated that Talbert was a principal to second-degree murder. He said Gray was murdered and shot at close range with the fatal shots coming from at least three different weapons.

“Although we don’t have the guns, there has been a lot of evidence that proves who was there and what was used,” Millican said.

Nicholas “Nick” Anderson testified that he drove Talbert and Terrell “T.J.” Williams IV to Talbert’s parents’ home in Welsh the night of the shooting, where Talbert changed into all-black clothing and returned with a revolver. Anderson said he was instructed to drive to a nearby church where Talbert retrieved an automatic rifle and handgun hidden in some bushes. He then drove to a daycare center where he parked the vehicle and Williams and Talbert got out.

A short time later, Anderson said he heard several gunshots, then Williams and Talbert returned sweating and telling him to “hurry and drive away.” While driving back to Jennings, Anderson said Williams told Talbert, “I ran out of bullets. You had to finish the job.”

Williams pleaded no contest to an obstruction of justice charge Tuesday. He was sentenced to 18 years with the Department of Correction, with all but 12 years suspended and credit for time served. In addition, he received three years of supervised probation to run concurrent with parole.

District Attorney Michael Cassidy said Williams was allowed to plead no contest rather than face a trial because “evidence was much stronger against Talbert than Williams.” The plea allowed the state to concentrate on Talbert, who it felt fired the fatal shot, he said.

Millican said he was pleased with the verdict, but acknowledged the tragedies two families now face.

“It is a tragic loss of life and a tragic crime which has had a negative impact on our communities in Jeff Davis Parish,” Millican said. “Often times the only way to resolve them is going to trial.”

Welsh Police Chief Marcus Crochet commended the men and women of the Welsh Police Department and District Attorney’s Office for the manhours put into bringing the case to trial.

“I couldn’t be more than happy,” Crochet said. “When you have good, honest police officers doing the right thing and you have a district attorney’s office which are able to work together so well, the end result can’t be anything less than a victory.”

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