A jury convicted a 20-year-old Friday on murder and attempted murder charges after he killed a man outside an apartment in a drive-by shooting before turning the gun on the driver and passenger of the car.
After about an hour of deliberation, the 12-member jury found Michael Diggs, of Houma, guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted first-degree murder.
On June 29, 2016, Diggs climbed into the back of a Mercury Milan while Roderick Smith was in the driver’s seat and Troy Deroche was in the passenger seat, according to testimony. They then drove to an apartment complex on Thomas Drive, where four men were hanging outside in the parking lot.
When they pulled up, Diggs fired his Glock at the group, killing 23-year-old John Darjean and sending bullets flying through the walls of an apartment.
Smith, who said that he did not know Diggs was planning to fire his weapon, sped off in the car before trying to get him out of the vehicle, according to his testimony. When Diggs got out, he unloaded his weapon on both men, killing Deroche and leaving Smith with multiple gunshot wounds.
Diggs, who was dressed in all black, dropped his head when he heard the two guilty murder verdicts.
In Louisiana, first-degree murder carries a life sentence without the possibility of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.
“I definitely feel sorry for the defendant,” said Assistant District Attorney Chris Erny, who prosecuted the case. “He’s a young kid that made a set of horrible choices, and he’s going to have to pay for that for the rest of his life. But he made the harsh decisions to do what he did, and he’s going to have to suffer those harsh consequences.”
Sandra Smith, Deroche’s mother, said although she was relieved to know Diggs would be off the streets, she felt like there was no “true justice,” in part because he demonstrated no remorse for the death of her son.
“There is no true justice because I can’t talk to my child,” Sandra Smith said. “I can’t see my child.”
Sandra Smith described Deroche, who was 29 when he died, as a “beautiful person inside and out.”
“Troy was a person that would’ve given his shirt off his back if anybody wanted anything,” Sandra Smith said. “He would’ve gone out of his way to give it to you, and that was Troy’s problem -- he was too trusting with people.”
During the trial, Erny played footage of Diggs telling police he was the one who drove during the shooting, but never fired a weapon.
According to Diggs’ version of events, he convinced Roderick Smith, who was heavily intoxicated, to let him take over the wheel, handed him his Glock and heard the shots ring out from the backseat when they pulled up to the apartment. After he sped off from the crime scene, he got out of the car, Diggs said, before getting his weapon back from Roderick Smith, taking off and hearing more shots fired.
Diggs claimed to investigators there was a fourth man in the car who could have shot Deroche and Roderick Smith. Although Roderick Smith admitted he did not remember some portions and details of the night, he never named a fourth person in the car during the incident in his testimony.
“The question was who was in the front and who was the shooter,” Erny said after the trial. “The jury made that determination. They chose to believe Roderick, and they should because I think it was supported by the evidence.”
Police arrested Diggs in Calcasieu Parish at his aunt’s house, where they found his Glock.
Lab testing on the gun revealed DNA collected on its surface matched Diggs and did not indicate the presence of anyone else’s DNA. Testing also found 14 casings collected from the crime scene were fired from the gun.
“There was no secondary contributor to that gun,” Erny said. “Everything pointed to Michael.”
Despite Diggs’ being found responsible for her son’s death, Sandra Smith said she didn’t hate him.
“He’s a young boy, a young man, and I feel sorry for his mom,” Sandra Smith said. “There’s no winners here. We’re all losers because she lost her child too.”
Staff Writer Natalie Schwartz can be reached at 857-2205 or nschwartz@houmatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter @nmschwartz23.
