Claville convicted of 2nd-degree murder, drug possesion

“I just want to tell Mr. Stillman that I didn’t kill their son.”
These were the only words Derrick Claville uttered as he was led out of District Court Tuesday afternoon after receiving the verdict that will ultimately decide his fate.
After a week of testimony, it took a jury only two hours to convict Claville of the 1999 murder of Robert Stillman Jr.
Claville, the 21-year-old son of Caddo Parish Juvenile Court Judge Vernon Claville, was convicted of second degree murder unanimously by all twelve jurors. The vote was eleven to one, guilty on the count of possession with the intent to distribute marijuana.
“My son is not going to jail! How can you do this to my child!” shouted Janice Rushing, Claville’s mother as she exited the courtroom.
Outside of the courtroom she continued to shout profanities at reporters and cameramen.
“I’m not doing no interview because them b*t@hes with the media already declared my son guilty by putting him on television every night,” she said.
Stillman’s parents, Robert and Bettye Stillman said there is nothing that can take the place of their son and he lives on in “memories and smiling pictures.”
In closing arguments Tuesday, prosecutor Tony Clayton downplayed the presence of 30 bags of marijuana that was found in Stillman’s room after the shooting.
“Kids make mistakes,” Clayton said.
According to the evidence, the marijuana found in Claville’s truck was bagged the same way as the drugs that was found in Stillman’s room.
Clayton also pointed out that the Stillman family would never be able to experience the joys of their son graduating from college and getting married.
“Claville thought he could get away with murder because he is the son of a judge,” said Clayton. “But I don’t care if you are the president’s son, you cannot get away with cold-blooded murder.”
Defense attorney Jim Boren pointed out all the inconsistencies of the case to the jurors.
“Javen Bienemy (eyewitness and S.U. fullback) described the shooter as wearing a black cap, a blue bandana and ‘Elvis sideburns’,” Boren said.
Bienemy did not mention the sideburns or the other pieces of clothing in his statement to the Southern University Police Department.
Three of Claville’s friends testified during the trial that he was asleep in his truck on campus at the time of the shootings.
Clayton also brought up the fact about Claville failing to show up for trial in February.
During the trial, Janice Rushing told the jury that she “thought” Claville was supposed to be in court trying to push the trial date back. So the day before he was to appear in court she said she was “frightened” and “confused.”
“I told Derrick that I’ll do whatever he needed me to do in order to protect him. I told him let’s go,” she said.
Clayton did not buy the story.
“I think mothers tend to love their babies no matter what, and I feel for her, but she wasn’t there and Derrick has to be accountable for his own actions,” Clayton said.
“The state of Louisiana has Tony Clayton lynching black boys for crimes that they didn’t commit, but if I got to go all the way to the White House, my son will not be in Angola,” said Rushing.
The sentencing date has been set for January 23, 2002.