In the late hours of September 9, 2015, in Shreveport, Louisiana, a dark Lincoln sedan pulled to a stop on the I-20 westbound exit ramp at Monkhouse Drive. Inside the vehicle, the life of 31-year-old Mark Anthony Cornett was about to be tragically cut short. Cornett, a White / Caucasian male, was behind the wheel, unaware of the imminent danger from one of his passengers. In a sudden, violent act, he was shot once in the back of the head with a 9-mm handgun, an execution-style killing that resulted in his immediate death.
The occupants of the car, including Todd Scruggs and Lacey Smith, were, along with Cornett, involved in the local drug culture. In the immediate aftermath of the gunshot, chaos ensued. Scruggs and Smith fled the vehicle, and the shooter followed. After a brief exchange, the gunman fled in a different direction. The subsequent investigation by the Shreveport Police Department's Violent Crimes Division quickly focused on a 27-year-old passenger, Dylan James Magluilo.
Evidence linking Magluilo to the murder began to surface. A bag he had been carrying, still wet with Cornett's blood, was discovered at a nearby construction site. Inside the bag were men's clothing and Hornady 9 mm bullets, the same type of ammunition used in the killing. The murder weapon was found hidden just 50 feet away from the bag. Furthermore, Magluilo confessed to two individuals, Tiffany Chaffee and Amanda Thompson, that he had shot Cornett. His stated motives were conflicting; he told one that he believed the car ride was a setup for Cornett to kill him, and he told another that Todd Scruggs had instructed him to do it.
Dylan James Magluilo was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. His trial began in November 2017, and on November 10, a jury of five men and seven women found him guilty as charged. The unanimous verdict confirmed that Magluilo was responsible for the calculated murder of Mark Anthony Cornett. On November 20, 2017, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, bringing a measure of justice to the tragic and senseless end of a young man's life.
