Court rules on paintball gun sale that ended in real gunfire

Published 12:03 am Saturday, January 6, 2018

LAPLACE — A Kenner man who brandished and accidently discharged a weapon during a paintball gun sale gone bad pleaded guilty last month, receiving a suspended jail sentence as part of a plea agreement, authorities said.

Marquavious Williams, 19, pleaded guilty Dec. 13 to carrying a weapon first offense, according to the St. John the Baptist Parish Clerk of Court’s Office, and was sentenced to six months suspended with the Louisiana Department of Corrections.

Marquavious Williams

Williams was also ordered to pay $269.50 in court costs and fines.

According to the St. John Sheriff’s Office, Williams drove to LaPlace to complete a paintball gun sale set in motion via the OfferUp app.

After the transaction, Williams left before realizing he was paid with counterfeit money, police said, leading Williams to return to the sale location on Lee Drive in LaPlace and engage in a brief argument with the buyer.

The buyer was not identified by the Sheriff’s Office.

“Williams then opened the trunk of his vehicle and was retrieving a shotgun when the gun went off,” a Sheriff’s Office release said.

Patrol deputies responded to the area, locating a subject in a black sedan and identifying Williams as the driver. A search warrant was obtained and a gun was located on the front seat of the vehicle, police said, with deputies saying they also located a shotgun on the ground under an 18-wheeler parked in the Airline Athletic Center lot.

No injuries were reported, and Williams was booked with illegal use of weapons.