JURY IN ST. MARY PARISH RETURNS GUILTY VERDICT IN SECOND DEGREE MURDER CASE

     In St. Mary Parish, Anthony Quint “RIP” Hills, 38, of Jeanerette, LA, was charged with one count of second degree murder in connection with the shooting of Brian Gibson, Jr.

     On the morning of May 2, 2021, Mr. Gibson was filling up his vehicle with gas at a gas station in Baldwin. Hills stood across the street and fired seven shots in the direction of the store. Two of those shots struck Mr. Gibson. Despite life-saving efforts, Mr. Gibson died as a result of his wounds. Hills fled the scene and eventually turned himself in to law enforcement.

     The incident was captured on surveillance video. Hills sent multiple notarized letters claiming that he was shooting at another person in the gas station parking lot and that Mr. Gibson was struck by a “stray” bullet and was not the intended target of the shooting.

     Ultimately, after a three-day trial, a St. Mary Parish unanimously jury found Hills guilty of second degree murder. Second degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.

     This 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.