Trial opens today for man charged in 2016 slaying
Opening statements and testimony are expected to begin this morning at the Miller County courthouse in the trial of a Texarkana man accused of committing murder in 2016.
LaJason Jaquize Coakley, 24, is accused of fatally wounding Montel Waller, 25, with a single shot to the chest Aug. 20, 2016, at the Paradise Club in Texarkana, Ark. Coakley was on parole at the time for shooting at Waller and others with an assault rifle June 19, 2013, and as a convicted felon was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
Coakley was sentenced to a 10-year prison term in 2014 for terroristic act for firing in the direction of a group of people in a Texarkana, Ark., neighborhood. Waller had been subpoenaed to testify against Coakley in 2014 but his testimony wasn’t needed because Coakley agreed to plead guilty.
He was paroled Aug. 27, 2015, according to the Arkansas Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Coakley faces 10 to 40 years or life in prison if found guilty of murder in Waller’s death. Waller died Sept. 12, 2016, at a local hosptial where he had been receiving treatment since being shot. A blood clot traveled to his brain and caused irreperable damage.
A jury of four women and eight men was selected Monday afternoon to hear the case. Two men were chosen to serve as alternates. Texarkana lawyer Jeff Harrelson is representing Coakley. Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Black and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kristian Robertson are handling the case for the state. Circuit Judge Brent Haltom is presiding.
The trial is expected to end this week. Coakley is currently being held in the Miller County jail.