THIBODAUX, La. (WGNO) — Lafourche Parish District Attorney’s Office announced the conviction of 25-year-old Kevon Southall for murder after he was found guilty of firing the bullet that killed 20-year-old Alex Morena during an armed robbery in October 2018.
Southall was convicted just two months after his 22-year-old accomplice Tyrick Hills was convicted for coercing the victim to meet at Dove Lane in Thibodaux where they orchestrated the robbery.
A report said when Moreno arrived at the location several hours later, Southall shot him multiple times and robbed him. Moreno died on the scene.
District Attorney Kristine Russell reported the unanimous guilty verdict levied by a 12-person Lafourche Parish jury on Wednesday.
According to the report, Southall was arrested in March of 2019 during a random traffic stop in Mississippi, and was found to be in possession of two guns – one of which was forensically proven to be the gun used to kill Morena.
“What bothers me the most about this case is that it never had to happen,” said Assistant District Attorney Shaun George, who prosecuted the case along with Assistant District Attorney Greg Stahlnecker. “I should have been prosecuting an Armed Robbery, but because of the defendant’s blatant disregard for life Alex Morena was killed.”
The report further stated that during the trial, Tyrick Hills was called to testify and claimed he lied about Southall being the shooter in an effort to protect the real shooter – his friend, Saharol Holmes, who was killed in August of 2019. Assistant District Attorney Shaun George refuted this claim.
“1,220 days have passed since Alex Morena’s murder, and not once did Hills indicate he lied during his interview with Detective Taylor,” said ADA George in a release received by WGNO. “Hills even testified at his own trial and didn’t mention it. Now, realizing the defendant will know what was said in that interview, he claims he lied and pins it on the one person who can’t defend himself.”
George continued, “People may lie, but forensics don’t. This isn’t a case of circumstantial evidence – the defendant was seen with the gun hours before the shooting, identified as the shooter, and found with the gun during a traffic stop in Mississippi. We aren’t asking for sympathy; we’re asking for justice.”
Southall faces a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.
