St. Landry Parish District Attorney
27th JDC
DATE: February 27, 2026 For more information, contact:
Chad Pitre St. Landry Parish District Attorney
(337) 948 – 3041
hmeyers@stlandryda.org
St. Landry Grand Jury Indicts
Today, February 27, 2026, the St. Landry Parish Grand Jury indicted two men for
the homicide of Markee Benjamin, 23, of Opelousas. Dominique Joseph Trotter, 22, and
Kurtel Anthony Gallien, 25, both of Opelousas, are both indicted for the Second Degree
Murder of Benjamin. Just after 6:30pm 0n December 12, 2025, Benjamin was sitting in
the passenger seat of a sedan stopped at the intersection of Market Street and Church
Street in Opelousas when shots rang out, striking the passenger side of the car and
Benjamin. Benjamin later died on December 20, 2025, from multiple gunshot wounds.
Opelousas Police Department investigated the matter leading to the arrest Trotter and
Gallien.
Nicholas Blain Lalonde, 48, of Arnaudville was also indicted today for the First
Degree Rape of a juvenile under the age of 12.
Both Second Degree Murder and First Degree Rape carry a mandatory sentence if
convicted to life imprisonment at hard labor, without probation, parole, or suspension of
sentence.
By: __________________
Chad P. Pitre
St. Landry Parish District Attorney
