“We want to see justice and him to pay for what he did,” the late Rev. Ronald Mouton Sr.’s twin brother said.
HOUSTON — Pre-trial proceedings are set to begin Monday for the man accused of murdering well-known Houston pastor Rev. Ronald Mouton Sr.
Houston police said Mouton was shot and killed in June 2022 in an apparent road rage incident on the Gulf Freeway, between Wayside and Griggs. Surveillance cameras in the area captured the late pastor’s car crashing right after the shooting.
About one month later, police arrested Deshawn Longmire in connection with Mouton’s death. Longmire, who was an Uber driver, was charged with murder. Court documents showed that Houston police used Uber records to place Longmire at the scene of the crime.
Longmire’s trial was pushed back from last September to this April because Longmire’s attorney was busy with another case. Mouton’s family said that it was frustrating.
“It’s been tough, because we’ve made every court appearance he has made, as he tried to get bond reductions, we’re always there, and even as they kept resetting the trial, we were there each time,” Rev. Roland Mouton Jr., the late pastor’s twin brother, said.
Nearly three years after Mouton was killed, Longmire’s trial proceedings are set to begin. Pre-trial activity is set for Monday, jury selection is set for Friday, and arguments are expected to begin next Monday.
Roland Mouton said he and the rest of his family have been anxiously awaiting the trial, and they want Longmire to be held accountable.
“It’s not going to bring him back, my brother back, but we just need the closure of getting justice for a senseless shooting… To pull a gun out and shoot him in his car is senseless, and so we want justice. We want to see justice and him to pay for what he did,” Roland Mouton said. “This family forgives him, but our forgiveness does not mean that we don’t want justice.”
Roland Mouton was in Houston on Easter Sunday, preaching at East Missionary Baptist Church, where his late brother served as pastor for more than 30 years. A photo of Ronald Mouton has been placed in the church for all parishioners to see, in loving memory of all that he did for the community.
“He was a caring man. He was compassionate. He did a lot in this community here. Food drives. Giving away clothes. Just a kind person that would give you anything. That’s the kind of guy he was,” Roland Mouton said. “It leaves a huge hole in this community. It leaves a huge hole in this church’s heart and my family’s heart. And for me, it’s like half my life is gone. Me and my twin shared everything.”
Roland Mouton described the strong bond he and his twin brother shared by speaking about the day of his death. Roland Mouton, who lives in Louisiana, was mowing the lawn of the church where he preaches there, when he said he suddenly felt overcome.
“I started patting myself right here. I kept saying, ‘Looks like the heat is getting to me,’ not knowing that I’m patting here, because he was taking the bullet here. And for some reason, I was feeling that, just didn’t know it. That’s how close we were,” Roland Mouton said.
KHOU 11 News reached out to Longmire’s defense attorney ahead of the trial proceedings but did not receive a response as of Sunday night.