A Jefferson Parish jury on Thursday (Dec. 7) convicted Donovan Lafrance of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend in a jealous rage in her West Bank apartment last year.
Lafrance, 30, of Gretna, is guilty as charged of first-degree murder for shooting Clarence Harvey twice in the chest and once in the head, jurors unanimously decided.
Harvey, 31, of Braithwaite, was fatally shot at about 12:45 a.m., on Sept. 29, 2022, in the bedroom of his 28-year-old girlfriend’s apartment in the 3200 block of Wall Boulevard in Harvey. He was pronounced dead soon after.
Donovan Lafrance “wasn’t going there for the pots and pans, ladies and gentlemen. He was going there to kill Clarence Henry, because he couldn’t take (his ex-girlfriend) moving on.” – Assistant District Attorney Taylor Somerville
Lafrance dated the woman for about five years, but she parted ways with him in 2021 because of his physically abusive behavior. In May 2021, he struck her with his fist and then with a pistol, requiring her to seek medical attention. She received five stiches for that beating. She declined to press charges but distanced herself from Lafrance. In September 2022, days after he saw his ex-girlfriend with Harvey, Lafrance strangled her by putting his hands around her neck, leading her to pass out. She did not contact the police.
Despite the abuse and breakup, they remained in contact during the year that followed. They even traveled to New York together the week before the murder. But she made it clear that they were no longer in a relationship. Lafrance was aware that she had been dating Harvey and even knew him.
During the day before the murder, she and Lafrance exchanged numerous text messages, discussing their failed relationship, her distrust of him because of his physical abuse and her moving on with her life. She told him she wanted to be in a place in her life where she could trust him again, referencing his physical abuse. She described him as a man with conflicting sides: a prince who she would marry but also an abuser. He acknowledged it and said he “wouldn’t never touch another female another day my life.”
That evening, she went to her job at a Marrero bar. Lafrance sent a text message, asking what she was doing. At work, she replied, and she added that Harvey and another man were there.
Two minutes later, he asked her in a text message, “He sleeping there huh?” She replied saying Harvey would not be, but he and other friends would be visiting her at her apartment after work.
The text messages continued. She reiterated her thoughts about his physical abuse, and apologetically said she had to heal “on my own.” She sent her last text message to Lafrance at 11:12 p.m.
After her shift ended, she and Harvey drove separately to her apartment. After midnight, Lafrance called her phone several times. She didn’t answer. At 12:33 a.m., he sent her a text message, saying “The worst thing is too [sic] not answer.”
Lafrance went to her apartment. “He wasn’t going there for the pots and pans, ladies and gentlemen,” Assistant District Attorney Taylor Somerville told jurors in closing argument Thursday morning. “He was going there to kill Clarence Henry, because he couldn’t take (his ex-girlfriend) moving on.”
Less than 10 minutes after sending his ex-girlfriend that last text message, Lafrance repeatedly rang her doorbell and then banged on the door. She dressed to see who was at the door. But before she could answer it, Lafrance kicked the door open. He ran up to the second-floor bedroom and burst through the bedroom door and struck her. He demanded the keys to her car so he could retrieve his property from the vehicle and stormed out. He was retrieving his 9mm semiautomatic pistol.
He returned to the apartment minutes later. Harvey, who was partially nude and unarmed, remained in her bedroom during the incident. Lafrance returned to the bedroom and without provocation he pointed the pistol at Harvey, who was still in the bed.
Lafrance fired the first five bullets from outside the bedroom door, striking Harvey twice in the chest. He then entered the bedroom, stood over Harvey and fired the sixth bullet into his head.
“He was fueled by anger. What he did on that day was nothing short of first-degree murder.” – Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Truhe.
At 12:42 a.m., she called 911 and frantically pleaded with Lafrance not to shoot. “Don’t hit me, please,” and “Please, Donovan, stop,” she told him. The call was disconnected. Lafrance pulled the cell phone from her hand before fleeing with it to his car, whose engine he left running before he kicked in the apartment door. Two minutes later, she called 911 again. Jurors heard recordings of the calls.
“He was fueled by anger,” Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Truhe told jurors Tuesday in opening statements. “What he did on that day was nothing short of first-degree murder.”
Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived shortly after and found Harvey lying face up beside a wall in the bedroom. Lafrance was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder, based on his committing an aggravated burglary by forcing his way inside the apartment.
In testimony on Wednesday night, Lafrance admitted that he shot Harvey but believed that Harvey had a gun. He also blamed his behavior on his girlfriend, saying she lied to and cheated on him. His attorney accused the woman of inciting the murder. He suggested his client at most was guilty of manslaughter, which is a homicide committed in the heat of passion and carries a sentence of up to 40 years in prison.
The jury that heard two days of testimony deliberated about 1 hour and 15 minutes before returning with its verdict: Guilty as charged of first-degree murder. The District Attorney’s Office did not seek the death penalty.
Judge Donnie Rowan of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Lafrance on Dec. 12.
Assistant District Attorneys Taylor Somerville and Lindsay Truhe prosecuted the case.