Juries in two parishes returned guilty verdicts in two separate cases last week.
16th Judicial District Attorney M. Michael Haik III announced guilty verdicts in the slayings of Brian Gibson Jr. and Nicole Hamilton.
In the Gibson case, a jury found Anthony Quint "RIP" Hills, 38, of Jeanerette, guilty of second degree murder in Gibson's 2021 shooting death.
Gibson was putting gas in his vehicle at a Baldwin gas station when Hills allegedly fired seven shots at the gas station. Two hit Gibson, and he died of his wounds. Hill fled the scene but the incident was captured on surveillance video. Hills claimed he was shooting at someone else, but after a three-day trial the jury found him guilty. He now faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.
According to Haik, the case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Brady Holtzclaw, Katie Williams, and Mason Hebert. The District Attorney’s Office would like to thank Officer Michael Lewis and the Baldwin Police Department; Detectives Todd Kidder, Michael Arceneaux, Karla Meranto and the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office; the M. Bofill Duhé Acadiana Criminalistics Laboratory; the St. Mary Parish Coroner’s Office; the Jefferson Parish Forensic Center; and all St. Mary Parish Courthouse staff for their assistance in the investigation and trial of this matter.
Here are some of our stories about this case:
https://www.katc.com/news/st-mary-parish/one-dead-in-baldwin-shooting
https://www.katc.com/news/st-mary-parish/second-arrest-made-in-fatal-baldwin-shooting
In the Hamilton case, a St. Martin Parish jury unanimously convicted Linus Shelvin, 57, of Lafayette on a charge of second-degree murder after a week-long trial.
Hamilton was Shelvin's girlfriend, and he was accused of killing her then dumping her body off Mills Highway near Breaux Bridge. A joint investigation of the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Lafayette Police Department led to Shelvin’s arrest.
Key evidence presented at trial showed that Shelvin initially lied to law enforcement about seeing Hamilton that night, but investigators found surveillance video showing her arriving at his house. Shortly after that, he disabled the camera that was directed at his house. Investigators also tracked Hamilton's vehicle traveling to Mills Highway, near where a passerby later found her body.
Hamilton's vehicle was abandoned in Lafayette, within walking distance of Shelvin's house. Surveillance cameras caught someone wearing the same clothes Shelvin was wearing walking in the area at the time the car was abandoned. Her blood was found in the car, and also in Shelvin's house. His sentencing is set for March 31 at 9 a.m.
According to the Louisiana Department of Health, 181 people lost their lives to domestic violence between 2020–2022. Louisiana continues to have one of the highest rates of women being murdered by men in the nation. If you or someone you know may be experiencing domestic violence, please seek help immediately by contacting local law enforcement or a family violence crisis center. In St. Mary, Assumption, Iberia, and St. Martin Parishes, Chez Hope provides resources and assistance to victims of domestic violence; their crisis hotline number is 1-888-411-1333 and their website is www.chezhope.org.
First Assistant District Attorney Alister Charrier prosecuted this case with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Halee Maturin. The investigation was led by Detective Vicky Lagrange of the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office, with digital forensics processed by Sgt. Dina Theriot. Additional support was provided by the Lafayette Police Department and the M. Bofill Duhé Acadiana Criminalistics Laboratory.
“I want to commend the families of both Brian Gibson, Jr. and Nicole Hamilton for their commitment to seeking justice for their loved ones. I also want to thank the agencies who investigated the case, our Assistant District Attorneys and staff for their hard work in preparing and presenting the facts at trial, and both juries for carefully considering the testimony and the evidence in these cases. Without the participation of all of these parts of our system, justice would not be served in these cases," Haik said.
Here are some of our stories about this case:
https://www.katc.com/news/st-martin-parish/lafayette-man-arrested-in-connection-with-august-homicide-in-breaux-bridge
https://www.katc.com/news/st-martin-parish/lafayette-man-indicted-in-connection-with-august-slaying
https://www.katc.com/news/st-martin-parish/deputies-investigating-body-found-in-breaux-bridge-as-homicide
