In the summer of 2017, a dispute over a small amount of money tragically cut short the life of Blake Coleman Jones, a 24-year-old Caucasian male from Rayne, Louisiana. On the afternoon of July 22, Jones was shot in the head in the 500 block of Marie Avenue in Rayne. He was rushed to Lafayette General Hospital, where he was initially on life support in critical condition. Despite medical efforts, Blake Jones succumbed to the single gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at 8:24 a.m.
the following morning, July 23, 2017.
The events leading to the fatal shooting began with a plan to sell a car for scrap. Desmond Dugas, then 20 years old, had enlisted Jones to use his truck to tow a derelict vehicle to a scrapyard. Jones, accompanied by a friend, Jonathan Istre, helped Dugas and his uncle transport the car. After Dugas was paid approximately $156 for the scrap, the group returned to his house. An argument then erupted when Istre demanded more than the agreed-upon $20 for Jones's help. As the disagreement escalated, Dugas claimed that as Jones and Istre began to drive away, their truck's mirror and fender struck him, causing him to fall into a ditch. It was at this point that Dugas fired the shot that would prove fatal for Blake Jones.
Immediately following the shooting, the Rayne Police Department launched an investigation, and Desmond Dugas was quickly identified as the suspect. He was arrested on the day of the shooting and was initially charged with attempted second-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Following Jones's death, a warrant for second-degree murder was sought and approved.
Desmond Dugas stood trial for the murder of Blake Jones. During the proceedings, he did not deny shooting Jones but argued that he had acted in self-defense. However, after a week-long trial, a jury deliberated for less than an hour in February 2020 and returned a guilty verdict for the charge of second-degree murder. Consequently, Desmond Dugas was sentenced to life in prison without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. Dugas later appealed his conviction, but the appeal was denied.
