Jeanerette man convicted in 2021 Baldwin gas station killing

A Jeanerette man accused of a fatal shooting at a Baldwin gas station was convicted Nov. 17 of second-degree murder, the 16th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said.

It was one of two murder convictions last week in the 16th JDC. A Lafayette man was convicted of second-degree murder Saturday in St. Martin Parish in what the DA’s Office described as a domestic homicide.

In the St. Mary case, the jury unanimously convicted Anthony Quint “RIP” Hills, 38. He was accused of killing Brian Gibson Jr. on May 2, 2021.

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, the DA’s Office said. Two of those shots struck Gibson.

Despite life-saving efforts, 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, that Gibson was struck by a stray bullet and that he was not the intended target of the shooting.

Ultimately, after a three-day trial, a St. Mary Parish found him guilty.

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 DA’s Office thanked 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.

In the St. Martin case, Linus Shelvin, 57, Lafayette was convicted Saturday in St. Martinville on the second-degree murder charge after a weeklong trial.

The conviction stems from a 2021 domestic homicide in which Shelvin killed his girlfriend, Nicole Hamilton, and disposed of her body off Mills Highway in Breaux Bridge. A joint investigation between the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Lafayette Police Department led to Shelvin’s arrest.

Key evidence presented at trial showed that Shelvin initially lied to law enforcement about seeing the victim on the evening of her disappearance, the DA’s Office said. Law enforcement recovered surveillance video showing the victim arriving at Shelvin’s house.

Thereafter, Shelvin disabled a surveillance camera directed towards his home.

Law enforcement also tracked the victim’s vehicle traveling to the Mills Highway, where a passerby on an ATV later discovered her body. The vehicle was subsequently found abandoned in Lafayette’s Heymann Park, within walking distance of Shelvin’s residence.

Multiple surveillance videos captured a subject wearing the same clothing Shelvin wore on the day the victim went missing. The subject was seen in the area around the time the victim’s car was abandoned and walking toward Shelvin’s home.

Further, blood was found in the back seat of the victim’s vehicle which was forensically determined to match the victim. Additional bloodstains were located inside the defendant’s residence, including a recliner and the back door which also matched the victim.

Sentencing is set before the District Judge Roger Hamilton Jr. at 9 a.m. March 31.

According to the Louisiana Department of Health, 181 people lost their lives to domestic violence 2020–2022. Louisiana continues to have one of the highest rates of women being murdered by men in the nation. If you or someone you know may be experiencing domestic violence, please seek help immediately by contacting local law enforcement or a family violence crisis center.

In St. Mary, Assumption, Iberia and St. Martin parishes, Chez Hope provides resources and assistance to victims of domestic violence. The crisis hotline number is 1-888-411-1333 and the website is www.chezhope.org.

“I want to commend the families of both Brian Gibson Jr. and Nicole Hamilton for their commitment to seeking justice for their loved ones,” District Attorney M. Michael Haik said. “I also want to thank the agencies who investigated the case, our assistant district attorneys and staff for their hard work in preparing and presenting the facts at trial, and both juries for carefully considering the testimony and the evidence in these cases.

“Without the participation of all of these parts of our system, justice would not be served in these cases.”