Deshawn Longmire, a 26-year-old man charged with fatally shooting beloved Texas pastor, the Rev. Ronald K. Mouton, during a 10-second road rage argument in 2022, prayed for healing and forgiveness from the pastor’s family after he was found guilty Thursday.
“I made a mistake, and I hurt a lot of people, and I see that and know that,” Longmire told the family in court.
“I pray that God puts forgiveness in your heart towards me. And then that God just put a miracle in your heart, restore your heart. I know that your hearts are broken, and I pray for healing in this situation,” he continued. “I want you all to know that I love you all … every single one of you all. And I never meant to hurt anybody. I never meant for any of this to happen.”
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Since his murder, Mouton’s family, led by his twin brother, Rev. Roland Mouton Jr., has been advocating for justice for the death of the late leader of East Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Houston. He was satisfied with the verdict.
“I’m satisfied with the verdict. I think the family is very satisfied with the verdict,” Rev. Mouton told KPRC 2.
“It’s a moral victory to us, but it doesn’t take the sadness away. The loss is just too significant to us to just be overjoyed, but it does give us a sense of relief to know that the guy that killed my brother will now pay for what he did.”
In a previous interview, Rev. Mouton stated that the family had already forgiven Longmire, but he still had to answer to the law.
“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,” Mouton said. “This family forgives him, but our forgiveness does not mean that we don’t want justice.”
Longmire is facing a potential life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Mouton was shot in the chest in June 2022 after a 10-second argument with Longmire on the Gulf Freeway in Houston.
Investigators from the Houston Police Department said surveillance video from the June 24, 2022, shooting of Ronald Mouton shows the pastor, who was driving a BMW, and Longmire, who was driving a black Honda Accord, stopped along the freeway before the shooting.
Police say the two appeared to argue for about 10 seconds before the driver of the Honda shot the pastor in the chest and caused him to crash his vehicle. Ronald Mouton crashed shortly after 5 p.m. at 6400 Gulf Freeway near Gould Street along the southbound lanes, police said. He left behind his wife, four children and 10 grandchildren.
Longmire was charged with murder after witnesses told investigators they saw him arguing with the late pastor at a stoplight on the Gulf Freeway frontage road. Though neither driver exited their vehicles, witnesses told police that when both cars started moving, Longmire “stretched his arm out of the driver window with a pistol in his hand” and allegedly shot Ronald Mouton and sped off. Surveillance videos show Ronald Mouton crashing his vehicle and he was later pronounced dead at the scene.
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