Persley Guilty of 2nd Degree Murder at Pines Rd Apartments

A Shreveport man who shot and killed a romantic rival at a Pines Road apartment was found guilty of the slaying Wednesday, August 7, 2024, by a Caddo Parish jury.

The nine-woman, three-man jury in District Judge Donald Hathaway Jr.'s court deliberated about 90 minutes before returning its unanimous verdict against Zhane Quinn Persley.

Persley, 26, will return to face Judge Hathaway August 22 for sentencing. The mandatory sentence for the crime is life in prison without possibility of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

Over the course of the trial, the Caddo District Attorney’s office called nine witnesses to prove that Persley murdered Devacseya Doyle at the Willow Trace apartments in the 8100 block of Pines Road.  On October 24, 2020, Persley confronted Doyle as he left an apartment with Persley's ex-girlfriend.  Evidence showed that Persley fired a single shot in the air, which caused Doyle to try to flee.  As he ran away, Persley fired four more shots with a 9 mm handgun, with one bullet striking Doyle in the back of the head, killing him almost instantly.

There was only a single witness to the shooting, and police could not locate any security camera footage.  While an arrest warrant was issued for Persley the day of the murder, he was not apprehended until the following March, and the murder weapon never was located.

During trial preparation, a conspiracy between the defendant and a fellow inmate at the CCC facility to intimidate the single eyewitness and discourage her from testifying was uncovered. Evidence of this conspiracy was presented to the jury to show Persley's consciousness of guilt.