Louisiana Man Convicted of Murdering 2 Men, Attorney Sought Jury Who Wouldn’t Judge Face Tattoos

Police tape in a stock photo. Scott Olson/Getty Images

An attorney sought a jury who wouldn’t judge his client’s face tattoos before he was convicted on Aug. 9 of shooting two men to death in 2017.

“That’s the first thing you see with him,” said Jarvis Antwine, the defense attorney, Fox News reported.

William Bottoms Jr. was convicted of second-degree murder after two dead men were found in the back of his car with bullet wounds, covered with a bed sheet.

The 29-year-old has tattoos that cover his face and neck. Some tattoos include the teeth of a skull around his mouth, a pyramid with the Eye of Providence on his forehead, and some words on different parts of his face.

Assistant District Attorney Dana Cummings didn’t bring up the tattoos when she questioned 14 potential jurors, but Antwine brought it up, New York Post reported.

Two people were reported to have said that they either didn’t care or believed it was a personal decision, but one of the people who had tattoos of her own wasn’t chosen to be a part of the jury.

Now that Bottoms is convicted of second-degree murder, the crime comes with a mandatory life term, The Advocate reported.

Megan Gaylord, Bottoms’s 29-year-old girlfriend, testified on Aug. 8 and said that Bottoms was doing drugs with the other two victims—Dedrick Dewayne Williams, 23, and Mohamed Sead Hussain, 29, the New York Post reported.

While Gaylord was driving with the other three in the other, she said that Bottoms became paranoid, he turned towards the backseat, and shot Williams and Hussain in the head.

Lightning Strikes Pickup Truck in Louisiana, Driver Unscathed

A pickup truck in Sterlington, Louisiana caught on fire after lightning struck it on Feb. 19, according to local news reports.

The driver wasn’t hurt in the incident, but his truck was a total loss, WJBF reported.

Police Chief Barry Bonner told the News-Star that a truck traveling south on U.S. 165 was struck by lightning while it was in motion.

The strike occurred near U.S. 165 and Louisiana Highway 2. It was close to several businesses, the report said.

Hope Herrington posted footage of the fire on Facebook, saying she is glad the driver was unscathed.

“All of a sudden lightning hit one of the poles at the red light and then there a van in front of it slammed on the brakes I guess it dodged it hit the truck,” said Herrington, MyArkLaMiss reported.

Herrington, who added that she was working her shift at Waffle House, saw the incident unfold.

“I seen the flames and I just took off I said I'll be right back,” added Herrington on social media, according to the local news website.

Her co-worker, Valarie McDonald, called 911 after the strike.

“It was in flame for a few minutes and then while I was on the phone I was like ‘it’s fixing to blow up’ and it did,” said McDonald.

“The flames, it started small, and then all of a sudden just black clouds and [it] went boom,” said Herrington.

According to officials, the lightning hit a stop light before jumping 300-feet, hitting the man’s truck.

Photos posted to local websites showed that the truck was totally destroyed in the fire.

“That’s my first time seeing that like up close it kind of scared me,” said Herrington.

The driver of the truck was not identified. Police in Sterlington said he made it to work afterward.

Epoch Times reporter Jack Phillips contributed to this report.