4th Trevillion in court today on charge of murder
Published 12:00 am Monday, December 7, 2009
The trial of Alonzo Lemont Trevillion, the fourth brother accused in a killing that also implicated a cousin in the family, began today with jury selection in Warren County Circuit Court.
Three of Trevillion’s brothers are serving life sentences following convictions for the shooting death of Justin Maurice Harris on June 17, 2007.
Harris was gunned down at his home at 1224 Grammar St. around 3 a.m., hours after Anthony Trevillion, older brother of Alonzo, argued with Harris at the New New Orleans Cafe, a nightclub then in operation at the site of the current Biscuit Company on Washington Street.
Anthony Trevillion and Harris had children by the same woman, and the shooting resulted from a confrontation at the club about her, police said.
Multiple rounds from an AK47 and at least one shotgun blast were fired into the residence, where two other men besides Harris were present. They escaped injury, but testified against the group charged in the shooting.
Alonzo Trevillion is accused of murder, two counts of aggravated assault and shooting into an occupied dwelling. The defense attorney is Louis Field.
Anthony Trevillion, 37, was convicted in April 2008, and his brother Armond Trevillion, 28, in December 2008. Anthony Trevillion’s half-brother, Matthew Nash, 30, was convicted in February. The three men were also found guilty of weapons and assault charges that saw additional prison time tacked on to their sentences.
Nash’s cousin, Rufus Armstrong, also has been charged with Harris’ murder.
Though only two weapons were fired in the assault, the five men were charged because they participated in the crime, Assistant District Attorney Dewey Arthur said in previous trials. “We don’t care who pulled the trigger. All five acted in concert, and all five should be held equally accountable and punished equally,” Arthur said.
Circuit Judge M. James Chaney is presiding, with Arthur prosecuting.
Armstrong’s trial is scheduled for Wednesday, but District Attorney Ricky Smith said his trial would likely be postponed since a jury could not be chosen from the same pool as Alonzo Trevillion’s jurors.
Anthony Trevillion’s conviction was recently upheld by the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
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Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com