Slidell Man Convicted of Murder in Parking Lot Shooting
March 26, 2025
District Attorney Collin Sims reports that on March 20, 2025, a St. Tammany Parish jury found 27-year-old Jamiel Miller guilty of Second degree murder and Obstruction of justice after deliberating for approximately two hours. Assistant District Attorneys Taylor Nicholson and Tiffany Dover presented the case to the jury with Judge Scott Gardner presiding over the 4-day trial. Detective Scott O’Shaughnessy with the Slidell Police Department was the lead detective in the investigation.
Officers interviewed several witnesses present on the scene. Officers learned that Miller had shot Williamson in the parking lot of the apartment complex. One of the witnesses was Miller’s girlfriend who was also the former girlfriend of Williamson, with whom she had three children. She said Williamson had called her, wanting her to come get two of their children from him. Miller drove her to Williamson’s apartment. While Miller remained in the driver’s seat of their car, the girlfriend went to the door of Williamson’s apartment and the two spoke. The woman walked back to the parking lot with Williamson and the two children following behind her. As they approached the vehicle, Williamson and the woman began arguing. They continued arguing across the roof of the car as the woman stood next to the front passenger’s door and Williamson stood near the driver’s door. Their two kids entered the back seat of vehicle. As the argument continued, Miller pointed a Glock 27 handgun out the open driver’s window and fired several shots, striking Williamson in the chest. Miller then fled the scene on foot.
Throughout the trial, defense counsel asserted Miller was fearful of Williamson due to previous altercations between the two. Defense said Miller acted in self-defense when he shot Williamson. After prosecutors concluded presenting testimony from several of the witnesses to the shooting, Miller took the witness stand in his own defense. He testified that moments before the shooting, he told Williamson to stay away from him but Williamson still moved closer to him. Miller initially testified Williamson was unaware he had a gun. However, Miller later changed his testimony and said Williamson saw the gun and said “Are you going to hit me with that?” Miller said he fired the gun out the driver’s window simply to scare Williamson and that he didn’t want to kill Williamson. Miller admitted saying “I told y’all I wasn’t playing” after he fired the shots.
On cross-examination, ADA Dover immediately zeroed in on Miller’s claim he only intended to scare Williamson. Dover asked Miller if he realized he had just confessed to second degree murder while on the witness stand. Dover reminded Miller in order for him to validly claim he killed Williamson in self-defense, Miller must have reasonably believed he was in imminent danger of losing his life or receiving great bodily harm and that killing Williamson was necessary to save himself from that danger. Dover told Miller he already had acknowledged he did not fear he would lose his life or receive great bodily harm. Miller responded by saying no one taught him the law on self-defense.
The jury concluded Miller did not act in self-defense and found him guilty of Second degree murder. The jury also convicted Miller of Obstruction of justice in connection with him disposing of the handgun after he fled the scene. Miller’s sentencing is set for April 22, 2025. The sentence for Second degree murder is mandatory life imprisonment. The sentence for Obstruction of justice is imprisonment for up to forty years.