On July 1, 2025, Shemarcus Lewis of Shreveport shot and killed his ex-wife, Rochelle Lewis of Haynesville, while their two minor children were in the family home on Spring Street in Haynesville, Louisiana. Shemarcus Lewis had been previously released from prison in Caddo Parish on Caddo domestic abuse charges involving his ex-wife and was under a Caddo Parish domestic protective order that prohibited him from being near his ex-wife.
Earlier during the day of July 1, 2025, Shemarcus Lewis purchased a Stoeger 9mm pistol second hand, along with a box of cartridges; and at approximately 10:00 p.m. that same evening, he knocked on the door of his ex-wife’s Spring Street home, walked past his then 14-year-old daughter, and entered the back bathroom where he shot his ex-wife multiple times. After leaving the house, he led police on a high-speed chase that ended with him wrecking his car in the median of I-20 near the Dixie Inn exit. While police were approaching the vehicle, Shemarcus Lewis attempted to take his own life with the same pistol that he used to shoot his ex-wife. His attempted suicide was unsuccessful.
A Claiborne Parish grand jury subsequently returned an indictment against Shemarcus Lewis, charging him with Second Degree Murder under La. R.S. 14:30.1. After lengthy pre-trial discovery and sanity commission proceedings, Lewis was set for trial by jury to commence on September 21, 2026. Just days before trial, Lewis chose to exercise his right to plead guilty as charged to one count of Second Degree Murder; and he did so before Judge Walter May and numerous members of the victim’s family on September 17, 2026.
The only sentence for Second Degree Murder under the statute is life imprisonment without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. Therefore, sentencing delays were waived, and Judge May sentenced Lewis to life in prison without parole.
Claiborne Parish felony prosecutor Jim Colvin handled the prosecution for the State. He said, “The victim’s family and law enforcement are very pleased with the result of this prosecution, and although children lost a mother and siblings lost a sister, we hope and pray that this conviction will bring the family closure and allow them to move forward. This was a terrible tragedy that can never be explained, and the defendant obviously did not want to face a Claiborne Parish jury.”
The District Attorney’s office would like to extend its gratitude to the investigating officers of the Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Haynesville Police Department, EMS first responders, the Minden Police Department, and the Louisiana State Police. Their professionalism, attention to detail, and thoroughness during their investigations gave the district attorney’s office all the information and evidence it needed to successfully bring Lewis to justice.