TEXARKANA -- A man accused of killing a man he was convicted of shooting at several years before has been charged with murder by Miller County prosecutors.
LaJason Jaquize Coakley, 23, is accused of firing a shot into Montel Waller's chest Aug. 20 at the Paradise Club in Texarkana. Waller, 25, died Sept. 12.
Coakley was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder by Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Black in Miller County. Coakley was on parole for two counts of committing a terroristic act and prohibited from possessing a firearm at the time of the shooting in August.
The terroristic-act charges stem from a June 19, 2013, shooting that involved Coakley and a co-defendant. Coakley fired an assault rifle toward a group of people and at a car in a Texarkana neighborhood.
Among those whose lives were endangered by Coakley's conduct in 2013 was Waller, authorities say. Waller was subpoenaed to testify against Coakley at his trial in 2014. But Coakley pleaded guilty in June 2014 to two counts of committing a terroristic act and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Witnesses told police the 2013 shooting was motivated by a Texas versus Arkansas rivalry. Coakley is from Texarkana, Ark., and Waller is from Texarkana, Texas, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
At the time of his plea, Coakley received credit for 368 days in jail. He was paroled in August 2015 after serving just more than a year in prison. He faces 10 to 40 years or life in prison if convicted.
State Desk on 11/13/2016