Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Special to The Daily News

August 20, 2024—District Attorney Collin Sims reports that on August 19, 2024, 22-year-old Dae’von Jamerea Odom Gay of Franklinton was sentenced to forty (40) years in prison following his guilty plea to manslaughter in connection with the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Jawalski Wiley of Franklinton. Assistant District Attorneys Luke Lancaster and Iain Dover prosecuted the case with Judge Ellen Creel presiding.

On the evening of August 27, 2022, the Bogalusa Police Department received reports of an unidentified black male lying in the roadway near the intersection of Atlanta Street and Virginia Avenue after having been shot. Officers arrived on the scene and found the body of Jawalski Wiley with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Officers made contact with residents in the area and learned that minutes earlier, Wiley had been engaged in a physical altercation with another man. While the fight was occurring, the defendant arrived on the scene in a red Kia automobile. The defendant exited the vehicle and proceeded to walk up to Wiley and shoot him once in the face. The defendant then re-entered the vehicle and fled before police arrived.

During the course of the investigation, it was learned Wiley and defendant had a previous relationship. Officers attempted to locate the defendant but were unsuccessful. An arrest warrant was obtained and several weeks later, authorities received an anonymous tip that the defendant had fled to Houston. Officers with the Houston Police Department located the defendant at a Houston apartment complex and took him into custody. He was extradited back to Louisiana.

Members of the victim’s family attended the defendant’s guilty plea proceedings. They expressed their support for the terms of the guilty plea. Wiley’s sister and cousin made statements during the proceedings regarding how their families had been impacted by his death. They described how he was loved and missed. They told the defendant they hope he finds his peace with God.