- By KATIE KENNEDY
- Advocate staff writer
- Published: Jun 19, 2011
A 42-year-old man was convicted of manslaughter Saturday in the shooting death of a man during an argument outside of a Baton Rouge club on the night before Thanksgiving in 2009.
An East Baton Rouge Parish jury deliberated for nearly three hours before finding Willie Dunn Jr. guilty of manslaughter by a vote of 10 to 2.
Dunn shot Petra Jones, 36, once in the head on Nov. 25, 2009, following an argument at The Dancer's Club on Airline Highway.
Prosecutors were seeking a second-degree murder conviction.
"We respect the jury's decision," said East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III. "We still believe it was second-degree murder. The maximum sentence would be appropriate."
Manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. Dunn will be sentenced Oct. 20.
Jurors heard more than three hours of closing testimony Saturday from Dunn's attorney, James Manasseh, and prosecutors Ron Gathe and Sonia Washington.
Both sides said the fight began in the club and continued into the parking lot, where Dunn and his brother argued with Jones and another man.
Dunn's brother got a gun from his truck and continued to argue with the men before the situation cooled enough for Dunn and his brother to walk away. That's when the accounts of what happened diverge.
Manasseh argued Dunn acted in self-defense, saying Jones got a gun from his car and pointed it at Dunn and his brother as the two men were walking away from the conflict.
Three of Jones' friends, who were with him the night he was killed, testified that Jones did not have a gun during the fight.
Manasseh attacked the witnesses' credibility, pointing to discrepancies in their stories and accusing them of lying about key facts.
"I don't believe there's ever been a situation where all three lay witnesses were found to be lying to either the police or the jury in the states own case. These were either admitted lies or law enforcement said these people are telling the truth," Manasseh said. "It's the strangest thing I've ever seen in my life."
Manasseh said he plans to file an appeal, a motion for a new trial and will investigate the lack of police reports and witnesses' perjured testimony.
"It was a self-defense case," Manasseh said. "Willie believed he saw Petra Jones with a gun and reacted as anyone would."
"It was a really hard trial," Moore said. "He had some very effective representation. But I commend the work of Sonia Washington and Ron Gathe. They spent a lot of time on this case."
When asked about her reaction to the verdict, Jones' mother, Rosa Jones, paused and then sighed before saying, "It was justice."
"That was my son," she said. "No one knows the sleepless nights I've had.
"I didn't come here with hatred in my heart," Jones' mother said. "I wasn't seeking vengeance and I didn't want to see anyone hurt. But this was God's will, and I'm truly glad that this is finally over."
Ola Jones-Daniels, Petra Jones' sister, added: "We're at peace. My brother, he's at peace now."
Relatives and friends of Dunn declined comment after the verdict was read.
