A Jeanerette man was arrested by agents with the U.S. Marshal's Office in Port Arthur, Texas in October of 2014 on suspicion of murder and booked into the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center.
On September 7, 2022, a jury unanimously found Henderson Wesley, of Jeanerette, guilty of second degree murder after a multi-day trial.
The conviction stems from the shooting of Ronald Chillis, Jr. on October 8, 2014. On that date, the defendant fired several shots through the front door of Mr. Chillis’s home in Four Corners, St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Traci Landry said.
According to officials, Chillis had been shot several times and died as a result of his wounds.
There is surveillance video of the homicide and the defendant was identified as the person who shot Chillis by several witnesses, authorities say. Further, cell phone analysis confirmed that the defendant’s phone was in the area around the time of the homicide.
Sentencing is set before the Honorable Keith R.J. Comeaux on October 21, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. Second degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.
