District Attorney Collin Sims reports that on June 25, 2025, a Washington Parish jury deliberated for
an hour before returning a guilty verdict against 25-year-old Christian Cartez Myers of Bogalusa on charges of second degree murder, assault by drive-by shooting and illegal use of weapons. Assistant District Attorneys Le’Anne Malnar and Christina Fisher prosecuted the case. Judge William H. Burris presided over the three-day trial. Detective Justin Blackwell headed the investigation for the Bogalusa Police Department.
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Testimony during the trial established that around noon on August 23, 2022, officers with the Bogalusa Police Department responded to a residence on Main Street after receiving reports of a shooting. Upon entering the residence, officers found 50-year-old Veronique Allen slouched in a chair in the living room. Medical personnel summoned to the scene determined Allen had suffered a fatal gunshot wound to her head. Family members present at the residence were understandably in a state of hysteria when officers first arrived. After calming them down, officers were able to gather information about what had occurred. Witnesses described a normal family gathering interrupted by a burst of gunfire from outside the residence. Several bullets penetrated the residence, one of which struck Allen. Officers checked the area outside the residence and found over twenty .223 caliber spent cartridges scattered near the street.
After securing video surveillance footage from a nearby residence and church, detectives were able to ascertain the license plate number of a vehicle observed circling the residence several times during the shooting. The license plate number was disseminated to law enforcement agencies across the state and later that afternoon, the Lafayette Police Department located the vehicle on one of its streets. When officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop of the vehicle, it fled at a high rate of speed. During the pursuit, the occupants ditched the vehicle and fled on foot. A firearm was recovered from the front seat of the vehicle. A convenience store surveillance camera recorded one of the occupants running away. The video was later shown to relatives of Allen to determine if they could recognize the subject. They all identified him as Christian Myers.
An arrest warrant was issued for Myers. Detectives attempted to locate Myers and developed information he had fled to New York or Maine. Several months later, Myers was arrested by officers with the Scarborough Police Department in Maine and extradited back to Washington Parish. When questioned by detectives, he admitted to being the driver of the vehicle during the drive-by shooting. Myers said he had a “beef” with a man who turned out to be a relative of the deceased victim. Armed with weapons, Myers and several other males rode around Bogalusa looking for their intended target. They eventually ended up at the residence on Main Street. With Myers at the wheel of the vehicle, one of the other occupants riddled the residence with a barrage of gunfire. Myers said they then drove to Lafayette.
In closing arguments to the jury at the conclusion of the trial, ADA Christina Fisher urged the jury to find Myers guilty on all charges. Fisher said, “You cannot have a drive-by shooting without a driver. This murder would not have taken place without Christian Myers.” Defense counsel implored the jury to acquit Myers of the murder charge, saying a life sentence would be too harsh a penalty and that a conviction on the less serious charges would be sufficient punishment for Myers. In response, prosecutor Le’Anne Malnar told the jury, “Justice can only be served by a life sentence. A life sentence is being served by Veronique’s children and grandchildren because she isn’t here due to the defendant’s actions.”
Judge Burris set sentencing for Myers on July 21, 2025. Myers faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison on the second degree murder charge. He faces up to five years in prison on the drive-by shooting charge and up to two years in prison on the illegal use of weapons charge.
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