In the late winter of 2014, the community of New Iberia, Louisiana, was shaken by the violent death of a young man. Uriah Joseph, a 24-year-old male, was fatally shot on Monday, March 10, 2014. The incident, which marked the first homicide of the year in Iberia Parish, unfolded near the intersection of Sam and Ann Streets. Joseph sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was rushed to Iberia Medical Center, where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
In the immediate aftermath, law enforcement identified a suspect, 34-year-old Michael Augustine, also of New Iberia. A warrant for second-degree murder was issued for his arrest.
The investigation quickly led authorities beyond Louisiana's borders in search of Augustine. On Friday, March 21, 2014, he was apprehended in Houston, Texas, through the collaborative efforts of the United States Marshals Violent Offender Task Force and the Houston Police Department. Augustine was taken into custody without incident and held in Harris County, Texas, awaiting extradition back to Iberia Parish to face the murder charge. His bond was initially set at a formidable one million dollars.
The legal proceedings against Michael Augustine would stretch on for years, taking a significant turn from the initial charge. In April 2015, a grand jury indicted Augustine not on second-degree murder, but on the lesser charge of manslaughter. Despite this reduction, his bond remained high at $200,000, a sum he was unable to post, leading to his continued incarceration. The defense team for Augustine maintained that his actions were not criminal, but rather a case of justifiable homicide committed in self-defense. They asserted that Augustine was approached and threatened near his home and, in accordance with Louisiana's 'stand your ground' law, had the right to meet force with force.
After Augustine had spent two years in jail awaiting his day in court, his legal counsel filed a motion for a speedy trial in March of 2016. The defense argued that the District Attorney's Office had failed to bring the case to trial within the time limitations stipulated by law. This legal maneuver proved to be the final chapter in the lengthy case. Ultimately, the court sided with the defense, and the manslaughter charge against Michael Augustine was dismissed. After years of legal battles and his release from jail, the Iberia Parish District Attorney's Office's decision brought the near-decade-long ordeal to a close.
