In the quiet town of Bogalusa, Louisiana, a day of ordinary moments turned tragic for 50-year-old Veronique Allen. On August 23, 2022, while sitting in her mother's home on Main Street getting her hair done, a vehicle approached and unleashed a barrage of gunfire into the residence. Struck in the head by a stray bullet, the mother and grandmother was killed in what police believe was a drive-by shooting where she was not the intended target.
The hail of bullets pierced through the windows of the home, where several other people were present at the time. Allen's daughter was also grazed by a bullet but was expected to recover.
The investigation into the senseless act of violence led Bogalusa Police Department detectives to identify two suspects. The first, Christian Myers, a 22-year-old from Houston, Texas, was identified early in the investigation, and warrants were issued for his arrest on charges of principal to first-degree murder, principal to assault by drive-by shooting, and principal to illegal use of weapons. After eluding authorities, Myers was eventually apprehended on November 1, 2022, in Scarborough, Maine, following a disturbance at a local business. He was extradited back to Louisiana to face the charges against him.
As the investigation continued, a second suspect was identified as 23-year-old Aquandre Spencer, also of Houston, Texas. Believed to be in Texas, the U.S. Marshals Service was called in to assist in his location and apprehension. On November 17, 2022, Spencer was taken into custody in Houston. Authorities believe that Myers and Spencer were the only two individuals in the car at the time of the fatal drive-by shooting.
In June 2025, a Washington Parish jury found Christian Myers guilty of the second-degree murder of Veronique Allen, as well as assault by drive-by shooting and illegal use of weapons. The following month, he was sentenced to life in prison for the murder, with additional concurrent sentences of ten years for the assault charge and two years for the illegal use of weapons charge. During the trial, it was revealed that Myers admitted to being the driver of the vehicle and stated he had a 'beef' with a relative of the victim, who was the intended target. Surveillance footage from a nearby church and residence captured the license plate of the vehicle circling the home during the shooting, which was later located by the Lafayette Police Department after the occupants fled following a high-speed chase.
