Dejuan Guillory, a Louisiana father and concrete business owner, was shot to death by a sheriff’s deputy, and his girlfriend’s lawyer alleges that Guillory was lying on his stomach with his hands on his back at the time.
Guillory’s family alleges that he was shot four times in the back on July 6 and was unarmed. However, police say that Guillory, who was previously accused of shooting at an officer, was shot during an “altercation” with the deputy.
The Louisiana State Police arrested Guillory’s girlfriend, Dequince E. Brown, 21, of Church Point, Louisiana. She was present during the shooting and has been accused of attempted first-degree murder of a police officer, a charge her lawyer disputes.
People on social media are demanding justice for both Guillory and Brown, and the hip hop artist Common is among them. Guillory is described as a loving father with a contagious smile who had overcome previous troubles to start a business.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Brown’s Attorney Claims That Guillory Was ‘Begging for His Life’ Before Being Shot While On His Stomach
Joe Long, attorney for Dequince Brown, gave a detailed interview describing what Brown says she witnessed to Penpoint News investigative reporter Daniel Banguel. You can listen to the audio interview in full above.
In it, Long says that Brown “said that she and Mr. Guillory were on a four-wheel vehicle late at night, they were four wheeling…they were riding on a gravel road… and they passed an officer who was on the side of the road.” The officer stopped them and asked for their IDs, which they didn’t have.
“The officer became angry and called Guillory over to his unit to continue interviewing him,” said the lawyer, who said he doesn’t believe Brown has any prior criminal history.
“I think it started out a traffic stop, and the officer’s temper got the best of him,” Long alleged to Banguel. “It was a fistfight and he (Guillory) had retreated. If he retreated, there’s no need to kill the man.”
Brown’s lawyer said she told him the confrontation between Guillory and the officer “started out verbal. The officer was in Guillory’s face giving him grief about not having his ID on his person, and Guillory was arguing back… the officer wasn’t satisfied with the answer. The officer was in his face, pointing his finger.”
Long said the officer was “way up in Guillory’s face, and Guillory pushed the officer back to get him out of his private space.” Brown told Long that “…the officer then came back and shoved Guillory… a fight began and Guillory hit the officer at least twice.”
After the two began fighting, Brown called to Guillory to stop and to come on. Guillory broke off the fight and walked away to his four-wheeler and Brown, Long said his client told him.
At that point, alleged Long, “the officer drew his weapon and told both of them to get on their ground on their belly. That’s what they did… Guillory put his hands behind his back, waiting for the officer to handcuff him,” Long said.
“…Guillory was on the ground on his belly with his hands behind his back. The officer had a gun trained at Guillory’s back, maybe a foot or two from Guillory’s body. They were still arguing back and forth but Guillory was on the ground as directed, his hands were behind his back. He wasn’t resisting. All of a sudden, a shot rang out. Brown knew that Guillory had been shot. She then jumped on the officer’s back to stop him from killing Guillory,” alleged the lawyer to Banguel.
Long said Brown bit the officer on the rear of his neck to stop him from shooting Guillory. At that point, the officer fired three more shots, said Long to Banguel. Long said Brown picked up the officer’s radio to call for help.
At one point before being shot, “Guillory was begging for his life. Guillory was saying please don’t shoot me, I have three kids. He was very afraid,” alleged the lawyer, who added that Brown claims the officer told Guillory at one point, “Shut the f*ck up or I’ll shoot you.”
He said that his client remembers Guillory being on his stomach with his hands on his back when he was shot.
2. Guillory Was Described as Hard-Working & Charming & Was Working as a Concrete Contractor
Dejuan Guillory.
According to The Root, Guillory was described in glowing terms by those who knew him.
“Everyone who knows him calls him sweet, hard-working and charming. Everyone who ever laid eyes on him objectively says he was good looking. He loved his children. He had a troubled past that he put behind him, but he had a promising future as a concrete contractor,” the Root reported.
3. Police Said Guillory was a Burglary Suspect Who Had Previously Stolen an ATM With a Backhoe & Shot at a Police Officer
Dejuan Guillory.
Police painted a very different picture of Guillory. They described him as a burglary suspect who had a previous theft arrest and once fired a gun at a police officer.
State Police said that Guillory “was arrested for stealing an ATM with a backhoe back in 2015,” reported KLFY.
According to KATC-TV, Guillory was also arrested during that incident for “firing a gun at a deputy.”
“The officer who responded found the backhoe, which is when the suspect allegedly starting firing rounds at the patrol car. At the time, police said they found twelve shell casings that were shot out of an AR 15 Assault Rifle near the backhoe,” the television station reported. KATC reported that Guillory pleaded no contest to simple criminal damage to property and received 10 years in prison, with five suspended. It was unclear why he was free in the community at the time of the shooting.
Pride Doran, a lawyer for Guillory’s family, shared the above video and wrote:
“Dejuan Guillory’s children and parents wish they had a minute more with him to tell Dejuan they loved him. Five minutes to tell him how he will be missed. But it would take much longer than that to communicate to the world who Dejuan really was; to convey the void left for his family, friends and community. And his potential? That loss to the world can’t be explained in a social media post, press release, or a television interview. The press has a responsibility it has left derelict as it pertains to Dejuan’s memory. From the outset, we saw him described as a ‘burglary suspect’. But those of us with access to the facts feel confident the truth will reveal otherwise. I’ve seen some news outlets pose the question ‘Why was he not in jail?’. As the lawyer who handled the referenced matter, I can tell you without reservation, the answer to that is ‘Because he did not belong in jail.’ Over the next day or so, I’m going to detail exactly what happened in that case, and you’ll see how and why it is important that each person within a keyboard’s stroke of this message, any of us who cares about truth and justice in this Nation, do all we can to let the world know who Dejuan really was … we can’t expect the media to accurately do it for us. But let’s be honest. Is what happened in Dejuan’s life before that night really relevant to what that officer did? And to the extent it is, how is a year-old suspended and probated sentence any more relevant than the other days, moments, and connections, of Dejuan’s life. Not at all, I say. We should refuse to let the world remember him as any of the negatives portrayed in the press reports. The headlines should have referenced an “Unarmed Father of 3, and local Coach and Contractor”, and not dismissed Dejuan Guillory as some nameless thug. Please watch. Share. Remember. #justicefordejuan.”
In the incident that led up to Guillory’s death, police say that an Evangeline Parish sheriff’s deputy “responded to a report of an attempted burglary just before 4:10 a.m. today near Chad Lane, located about four miles south of Mamou” and made contact “with the suspect, DeJuan Guillory, 27, of Mamou,” according to the television station.
State Police spokesperson Daniel “Scott” Moreau said “an altercation occurred between the deputy and Guillory. Guillory was subsequently shot during the altercation,” the television station said of the police account.
4. Guillory Was Called a ‘Stellar Athlete’ & Loving Father to Three Boys
Dejuan Guillory.
Guillory’s family has pushed back at the police account. They say that the pair were out “frogging” and that “the burglary call was either a bogus claim or someone called the police because they saw the couple frogging,” according to Penpoint News.
Penpoint News described Guillory’s family as well known in the area and said that he was in “good spirits” earlier that night with his new girlfriend and unfolding career.
The news site described Guillory as “a loving father of three boys, and beloved family man, stellar athlete, and fun ‘country-boy,’ who people loved to be around. He was righting his wrongs.”
A woman who knew Guillory posted on Facebook that she had just paid him for a big concrete job.
On Facebook, Guillory wrote that he was single, although he had posted numerous photos of himself with a woman and children. Most of his posts, including videos and photos, dealt with his children.
In 2015, he wrote of one of his children, “Daddy and tootsie pie showin my big man ry some loving before his lil surgery this morning! Love u son daddy knos u gunna walk out like a champ!”
5. The Deputy Was Placed on Administrative Leave
Dejuan Guillory with Dequince Brown.
The officer was identified as a Ville Platte sheriff’s deputy by Guillory’s family to Penpoint News. Police have not yet confirmed the officer’s name.
KATC-TV reports that the officer involved has been placed on administrative leave.
The officer was injured but has been released from the hospital, according to the television station.