True Crime
Gates was convicted of capital murder and automatically sentenced to life without parole.
On Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, a Harrison County jury found Darius Gates Jr., 29, of Hallsville, Texas, guilty of capital murder in the June 2023 deaths of Duane Jernigan, 49, and Keyan Jernigan, 29. Because prosecutors did not seek death, the conviction carried an automatic sentence of life without parole.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer ·
A capital-murder jury conviction with an automatic life-without-parole sentence is the judgment of guilt and the sentence on that count. It is not a pending accusation. On Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, after nearly three hours of deliberation, a Harrison County jury convicted Darius Gates Jr., 29, of capital murder in the June 2023 killings of Duane Jernigan and Keyan Jernigan at Gates' Roberson Road property. Life without parole followed automatically.
Gates pleaded not guilty and claimed self-defense. Prosecutors argued a calculated ambush and robbery tied to a marijuana deal, pointing to trial testimony that Duane Jernigan was shot in the back, that Keyan's handgun was not shown to have been fired by Keyan, and that Gates was found wearing Duane Jernigan's Rolex after a chase. Those are the State's trial themes as reported by the Marshall News Messenger and Longview News-Journal. The jury's guilty verdict is the finding on the capital-murder count.
Defense counsel argued the Jernigans arrived unannounced and armed and that the State had not proved an ambush setup. Victim-impact statements followed the verdict. The automatic life-without-parole term is the sentence that attached to the capital-murder conviction when death was not sought.
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