Houma man sentenced to 20 years for role in what police say was a murder for hire
A Houma man pleaded guilty to manslaughter this week after police charged him with hiring someone to kill another man in 2020.
Joseph Simmons III, 30, was sentenced Thursday to 20 years at hard labor with credit for time served. He entered the guilty plea just after jury selection in his trial before state District Judge Timothy Ellender Jr. of Houma.
Simmons was arrested in connection with the shooting death of Troy Taylor Jr. on Dec. 5, 2020, at the Cameron Isles Apartment Complex at 711 Enterprise Drive. Taylor was a resident of the apartment complex, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office said. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead after being taken to a local hospital.
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Rondell Dewey, 26, of Reserve, who police allege shot Taylor, is awaiting a March 13 trial on a charge of first-degree murder. Dewey, arrested June 29, 2021, is being held in the Terrebonne Parish jail without bail.
Simmons was originally charged with second-degree murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison upon conviction. A Terrebonne Parish grand jury indicted him on the charge in February 2021.
Terrebonne Parish Assistant District Attorney Gary Williams and defense attorney Anthony Angelette negotiated the plea agreement on the manslaughter charge.
"We didn't want to risk what would happen if we lost," Angelette said afterward. "He essentially saved his life by taking 20."
This article originally appeared on The Courier: Houma man gets 20 years in what police say was a murder for hire
