District Attorney J. Collin Sims reports that on Thursday, August 27, 2026, 54-year-old David Huey Rester, Jr., of Bogalusa, Louisiana, pleaded guilty as charged to First Degree Murder in connection with the March 2022 shooting death of local business owner Marl Wayne Smith. Following the guilty plea, District Judge Martin Coady sentenced Rester to life imprisonment at hard labor without the possibility of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Assistant District Attorneys Jay Adair and Christina Fisher prosecuted the case for the State.
The charge stems from an incident on March 2, 2022, when deputies with the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to a medical emergency call at The Pub Lounge on South Columbia Street in Bogalusa. Upon arrival, officers discovered the bar’s owner, Marl Wayne Smith, deceased behind the bar with multiple gunshot wounds, and the business's ATM destroyed. A collaborative investigation conducted by the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office, led by WPSO Detectives Raymond Myers and Corbet Hunt, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Louisiana State Police, and law enforcement partners in Mississippi linked ballistics, local firearm purchase records, and surveillance footage to Rester.
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Investigators obtained video surveillance from the bar that depicted Rester entering the establishment and drinking multiple beers while conversing with Smith, who was the only other person present at the time, for approximately 90 minutes. After rising as if to leave, Rester shook Smith’s hand, then pulled a gun from his waistband, shooting Smith several times. Rester then retrieved some of his fired shell casings before unsuccessfully attempting to retrieve cash from the bar’s ATM. He was subsequently arrested after robbing a bank in Waveland, MS, and shooting at pursuing law enforcement officials during a high-speed chase along I-10 through Hancock and Harrison Counties in Mississippi.
"This conviction ensures that a dangerous offender will spend the rest of his life behind bars," said District Attorney Collin Sims. "Marl Wayne Smith was a valued member of the Bogalusa community, and while this life sentence cannot replace the loss felt by his family and friends, we hope it brings a measure of justice and closure to all who loved him. I commend the thorough investigative work of the law enforcement agencies involved and our prosecution team for securing this result."
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