Judge finds Laquaras Augustine guilty in May 2021 murder of gun shop owner David Paul
After a two-day trial before a Rapides Parish judge, Laquaras Dyon Augustine was found guilty Wednesday of the second-degree murder of David Paul on May 7, 2021, in the Pineville gun shop he owned with his older brother.
Augustine, 25, will be sentenced by 9th Judicial District Court Judge Greg Beard on June 28. A second-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory life prison sentence.
On Monday, Augustine waived his right to a jury trial and elected to be tried by Beard. It took the judge just over an hour to return with a guilty verdict.
The crime
Michael Paul co-owned Liberty Arsenal with his youngest brother David Paul, 52. On Tuesday, he testified it was a combination of their pursuits — David's gun experience and his flea market background.
On the day of the shooting, Ramonte Lamar Jackson and Augustine visited the store on La. Highway 28 East, which has a Pineville address but is in the Libuse community. After browsing, the two left.
But Jackson returned about 12 minutes later and dropped a magazine he said wasn't working on a counter. As the Pauls began to look at it, Jackson moved a gun he held in his left hand to his right — and opened fire on both men.
David Paul was hit in his neck, torso and right forearm. He was able to draw his own weapon, but couldn't return fire. He died at the scene.
Michael Paul also was shot and fell next to David. Jackson left the building, but returned seconds later. He leaned over the counter and fired at the men again.
This time, though, Michael Paul was able to fire one round. Jackson fled to his vehicle, and Augustine drove away.
Both men were arrested within days, along with others. Jackson pleaded guilty last year to first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years.
Another defendant, Cliron Price, faces sentencing. Two others still await formal charges.
Augustine interviews
Rapides Parish Sheriff lead Detective Andre Clark spent almost all Wednesday on the witness stand as audio and video interviews he conducted with Augustine were played for Beard.
As the audio interview begins, Clark and another detective put Augustine at ease, talking to him about his life in general.
Augustine tells them he had lost his job in Texas six months before, went to Florida for another job that didn't work out and mostly had been homeless since he lost the first job. He said he usually stayed with friends or his girlfriend, who was attending the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
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He said he didn't have a good relationship with his family and thought about going back to school or into the military, perhaps working toward an engineering degree.
The detectives ask Augustine to describe what happened on the morning of the shooting, and he said he woke up and wanted cigarettes. He said he called Jackson, who later picked him up. He said Jackson was searching for a clip for a magazine.
They ended up at Liberty Arsenal, and Augustine spoke at length about how cool he thought the store and the items in it were.
After letting Augustine go through his story once, the investigators then told him to tell the truth. He changed his story slightly, but denied he knew what Jackson had planned to do or that he was driving the vehicle at any time.
In the video interview, conducted on May 17, 2021, Augustine admits being guilty of being an accessory in the case before Clark starts questioning him and tells Clark that should get him no more than five years in prison.
His story changes again, reflecting more closely what prosecutors allege happened. After the interview is over, Augustine repeats that he's guilty of being an accessory.
"Nothing more. Nothing less," he states.
The defense
Defense attorney James Word II and co-counsel Christopher LaCour also called Clark as one of their witnesses.
LaCour had cross-examined Clark when he was testifying for the state, asking him if Augustine had told him some truths during their interviews, as well as inconsistencies. Clark agreed.
When LaCour asked him which interview he believed to be more accurate, Clark said the second. He called it more truthful, but said Augustine still wasn't being totally honest.
LaCour also asked Clark whether Augustine understood some slang terms — "drill," which can mean to murder or hurt someone, and "hit a lick," or to rob or steal — he attributed to Jackson saying about the store during the interviews.
And he questioned Clark on whether Augustine could have refused to go along with Jackson when he had a gun.
Rapides Parish Assistant District Attorney Lea Hall, cross-examining Clark, asked him if Augustine lied to him.
"Which time?" Clark asks.
"Anytime," said Hall.
"Absolutely," Clark replied.
While most of the testimony Wednesday concerned Augustine's interviews, testimony Tuesday was much more dramatic.
'I'm bleeding out'
Michael Paul was the second witness to testify Tuesday. He followed forensic pathologist Dr. Yen Van Vo, who testified that David Paul died from multiple gunshot wounds.
Michael Paul told Hall he doesn't remember much from the shooting, but does recall the 911 call he placed.
"Hurry up! I'm bleeding out!" Paul yells to a dispatcher.
As the dispatcher connects to Acadian Ambulance, Paul can be heard moaning in pain. The dispatcher asks him about David, who is lying beside him.
"He's not breathing," he said. "Oh, David."
Paul spent two months in intensive care and was in a coma for some of that time. He spent a total of six months in the hospital and still has five bullets inside him, he testified.
Three were removed. He was shot twice in his chest, four to five times across his abdomen, twice in one leg and once in the other leg.
Closing arguments
LaCour said there was no evidence anything was stolen from the store. And since the charge against Augustine alleged David Paul was killed during an attempted armed robbery, he said if there was no evidence of that, then the state failed to prove its case.
"The state's case has been weak since the beginning," he said.
But Hall said it was Michael Paul's one shot that prevented the robbery. If Jackson hadn't planned to rob the store, why shoot the brothers? he asked.
He said it defies reality that Augustine was unaware of Jackson's intentions. And he said Augustine made the decision to get into the driver's seat of Jackson's car before the shooting.
"And that, really, is the whole case."
This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Laquaras Augustine guilty of murder in 2021 shooting of David Paul
