In the spring of 2022, a dispute between two men in Eunice, Louisiana, culminated in a fatal, ambush-style shooting that claimed the life of 34-year-old Clarence Mitchell. On Tuesday, April 12, 2022, Mitchell was driving in the 100 block of Bradley Street when he was struck by a shotgun blast. The impact of the gunfire caused him to crash his vehicle into a nearby house.
Mitchell succumbed to his injuries the following day.
The investigation into the shooting quickly identified 35-year-old Leonard Miller, also of Eunice, as the primary suspect. Witnesses at the scene provided a description of the shooter and the white SUV he fled in, leading authorities to Miller. With the assistance of the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office, Leonard Miller was located and apprehended in Lafayette on April 13, 2022.
Following his arrest, Miller was charged with second-degree murder. In late April 2022, a St. Landry Parish Grand Jury indicted him on this charge. The case proceeded to trial, and in March 2023, it took a jury only 15 minutes to find Leonard Miller guilty of the murder of Clarence Mitchell. In May 2023, Miller received the mandatory sentence for his conviction: life in prison without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.
