A 26-year-old man has been found guilty of murder nearly three years after killing a Houston pastor in an apparent road rage incident. Deshawn Longmire, an Uber driver, got into an argument with Rev. Ronald K. Mouton of East Bethel Missionary Baptist Church on June 4, 2022. During the 10-second encounter where the two argued in their cars, witnesses said Longmire reached across to Mouton’s car and shot him in the chest, causing him to crash. Longmire was later arrested one month later thanks to witness descriptions and video footage of the encounter.

Longmire has been sentenced to 23 years. The trial faced a series of delays, with the most recent one due to Longmire’s attorney working another case. During the sentencing, Longmire apologized and begged for forgiveness. “I made a mistake, and I hurt a lot of people, and I see that and know that. I pray that God puts forgiveness in your heart towards me. And then that God just put a miracle in your heart, restore your heart,” he said. “I know that your hearts are broken, and I pray for healing in this situation. I want you all to know that I love you all … every single one of you all. And I never meant to hurt anybody. I never meant for any of this to happen.”

Members of Mouton’s family shared testimonies about the impact the murder has had on their family. At the time of his murder, Mouton left behind his wife, four children, and ten grandchildren. One of his sons, Ronald Mouton Jr, broke down sharing how his youngest son would never know his grandfather. Ronald Mouton’s youngest son, Ryan Mouton, lamented that his father had been able to officiate his siblings’ weddings but had never had a chance to do his. Mouton’s twin brother, Rev. Roland Mouton Jr, stated the family was in need of closure prior to the trial. “It’s not going to bring my brother back, but we just need the closure of getting justice for a senseless shooting. Our forgiveness does not mean that we don’t want justice.”

After the sentencing, Mouton said he and the family were “satisfied.” “I’m satisfied with the verdict. I think the family is very satisfied with the verdict,” he said. “It’s a moral victory to us, but it doesn’t take the sadness away. The loss is just too significant to us to just be overjoyed, but it does give us a sense of relief to know that the guy that killed my brother will now pay for what he did.” He also stated that he believed his brother would have forgiven his killer. “I think he would. I’ll say it like this: you can’t preach a message that you can’t practice. I think that’s what we carry about what we do.”