In the late summer of 2017, the life of 19-year-old DeJuan Rashaud Ledet was tragically cut short in Alexandria, Louisiana. An African American male, Ledet had relocated to Pineville from Opelousas less than a year before his untimely death. On September 20, 2017, he was found shot and killed inside a vacant house in the 3900 block of Duhon Lane, a crime that would lead to a complex investigation and the eventual arrest of seven individuals.
The subsequent investigation into Ledet's
death revealed a web of involvement that included both adults and minors. Among those arrested was 20-year-old Donerious Dewayne Roy, who faced serious charges of first-degree murder and armed robbery with a firearm. As his case progressed, Roy expressed frustration with the slow pace of the legal proceedings and his representation. Another key figure was 16-year-old Demontrial Leandrey Alexander, who, despite his age, was tried as an adult. Initially facing a first-degree murder charge alongside armed robbery, the murder charge against Alexander was ultimately dropped. He pleaded guilty to armed robbery and received a 20-year prison sentence at hard labor, without the possibility of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. In a related development, the charges against his mother, Mary Alexander, for being an accessory after the fact were dismissed.
The legal proceedings saw several other individuals connected to the case receive sentences for their roles in the events surrounding Ledet's death. Marcel Jones, 21, pleaded guilty to armed robbery and was sentenced to 15 years at hard labor without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. Another accomplice, 19-year-old Brian Saunders Booker-Allen, entered a guilty plea to a charge of first-degree robbery and was handed a 12-year prison sentence to be served at hard labor. The case also involved a 14-year-old juvenile, against whom charges were filed, though the specifics of those charges were not publicly detailed. The series of arrests and convictions brought a measure of closure to a violent crime that had deeply affected the Alexandria community.
