On a Sunday afternoon in Houma, Louisiana, 66-year-old Connely Duplantis, a male, was tragically killed. The incident occurred on November 24, 2013, in the carport of his parents' home on Carolyn Avenue. Duplantis, a retired Catholic deacon visiting from his home in Gloster, Mississippi, had just finished lunch with his parents. As he was placing his dog into his van, he was approached from behind by assailants and fatally shot.
The motive for the attack was determined to be an armed robbery, with the assailants taking his iPhone 5.
The investigation into the daylight shooting quickly pointed towards a 17-year-old homeless teenager named Leron Calloway, who was initially named as a person of interest. An anonymous tip led Houma Police to a trailer in the Whispering Oaks Trailer Park, where Calloway was arrested without incident. He was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery in connection with Duplantis's death.
Following his arrest, Leron Calloway stood trial for the murder of Connely Duplantis. After more than two hours of deliberation, a jury found the now 18-year-old Calloway guilty of first-degree murder. Due to his age at the time of the offense, he was sentenced to life in prison but will be eligible for parole after serving 35 years. Another individual, 19-year-old Randy Wallace, was identified as an alleged accomplice in the crime and was also facing a first-degree murder trial.
