TWO DEFENDANTS, TWO LIFE SENTENCES – St. Landry District Attorney’s
Office Convicts Again
Yesterday, after eight days of testimony and just under two hours of deliberation, a St.
Landry Parish jury convicted both Jaden Ardoin (21) of Krotz Springs and Jaimon Mason
(23) of Port Barre of the First-Degree Murder of Wade Vaughn-Smith (20) and the Attempted
First-Degree Murder of James Preston Vaughn (22). The Vaughn brothers were from
Melville. Around 7:30pm on February 15, 2022, the 911 calls came in describing several
gunshots and a truck ablaze after it struck a tree near a cemetery on HWY 105 between Krotz
Springs and Melville. The jury found both defendants guilty of shooting at the truck; the
evidence established that a .556 bullet struck the deceased, who was driving the truck.
Firearm experts also testified that a 9mm SAR handgun found in Mason’s possession was
the source of a 9mm casing found at the scene of the shooting, similar to a 9mm bullet
fragment found in the tailgate of the victims’ truck.
Both Ardoin and Mason face a mandatory life in prison without the benefit of
probation, parole or suspension of sentence for the First-Degree Murder conviction, and ten
to fifty years in prison for the Attempted Murder conviction. Sentencing is set for August
7th. Assistant District Attorney Kylie Leblanc was lead prosecutor for the state. Alisa
Gothreaux also assisted in the prosecution. District Attorney Chad Pitre thanked St. Landry
Sheriff’s Deputies for their investigation in bringing justice for the family of Vaughn-Smith.
By: __________________
