The Louisiana Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole has granted parole to a man convicted of murder in Baton Rouge nearly 26 years after he was sentenced to life in prison.
Dana Glenn Miles, 51, was found guilty of fatally shooting 18-year-old Derrick Tucker with three shotgun blasts following an argument outside his family’s apartment complex the night of March 31, 1997.
At trial, Miles argued that he shot Tucker in self-defense moments after the man rushed toward his front door holding what he believed to be a gun. But prosecutors used testimony from two witnesses who said Tucker wasn’t threatening anyone when Miles opened fire, shooting Tucker in the chest, shoulder and the back of his neck. Eight days after the guilty verdict, District Judge Michael Erwin sentenced Miles in July 1998 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
But Miles was one of 70 prisoners granted clemency by former Gov. John Bel Edwards last year during his final months in office. The November commutation reduced Miles’ mandatory life sentence to 50 years, queuing him up for a January 2040 release date with good behavior. The commutation also made Miles eligible for parole for the first time.
During a Sept. 23 clemency hearing, the victim’s mother, Sharon Tucker Davis, listened as state parole board members described Miles as a model prisoner who has had a spotless disciplinary record since 2005. They indicated he has spent years mentoring fellow prisoners as part of Angola’s reentry program, teaching trades to others on the prison yard and doing community service work for outside charitable organizations.
After listening to the favorable report at last year's clemency hearing, neither Tucker Davis nor prosecutors from the East Baton Rouge District Attorney's Office opposed Miles' early release. The grieving mother dabbed away tears as she told board members how much she missed her son, but she encouraged Miles to continue his mentoring efforts if he is freed.
“I’m hoping that he can make impacts on other people, that they can learn from his mistake. Everybody’s entitled to a mistake. And to hear this young man own up to his mistake, it really meant something to me,” Tucker Davis told him, eliciting tears from Miles. “Dana, I forgave you years ago. And I’m pretty sure if Derrick was here today, he would forgive you.”
The parole board unanimously granted Miles’ parole on June 12, conditioning it upon him first completing a nine-month substance abuse treatment program at the Bossier Parish Correctional Center. The board also ordered Miles to go to schools at least twice a year after he is released and speak to youth.
Miles received backing from Angola’s deputy warden Rochelle Ambeau and several of his loved ones.
“I think that Mr. Miles is ready to reintegrate into society and become a successful citizen,” Ambeau said. “I feel that he has been rehabilitated and learned the lesson that he should’ve learned while he was here.”
Board member Danny Barras, who led the parole investigation, said the fact that Tucker’s mother forgave Miles weighed heavily in his decision. He also noted that Miles was rated a low-risk offender, had strong support from family and friends and was in the Louisiana Parole Project, an advocacy support and peer mentorship group that will give Miles residency and help him transition to life outside prison walls when he is released.
“There’s a lot of life that has passed by, and we’re here to prepare Mr. Miles for that,” the organization’s deputy director, Kerry Myers, told board members.
Miles apologized to Tucker's family and explained to parole board members what led up to the fatal shooting.
The clash in the 1500 block of North 32nd Street was precipitated by two days of bickering, with Tucker feuding with Miles and his relatives, court documents showed.
Miles was helping his brother and other family members install fencing around two apartment properties that his mother and grandmother owned. He said the day before the shooting, Tucker became upset with the family when he learned they were boarding up the duplexes and fencing it to ward off drug activity. Court records indicate Tucker, a known drug dealer, told the property owners to stop working because he used the apartments as a crack house. Shortly after the confrontation, Baton Rouge police officers patrolling the area noticed Tucker and his friends gathered at an abandoned house across the street from the apartments and ordered them to leave.
Miles said Tucker returned to the property the following evening and accused him of calling the police on him. After he and relatives retreated into Miles' duplex, they heard a ranting Tucker outside threatening to go get his gun and shoot them. Miles sent his cousin and girlfriend home minutes later, once the screaming quieted. He told parole board members he was preparing to leave himself when he heard glass shattering outside. He got his shotgun from under his couch and went outside, where he said he saw one of Tucker’s friends with blood trickling down his arms and hands.
Miles told police he was startled a split second later when he saw a blur coming from the side of his parked truck in front of the duplex. He thought Tucker had a “chrome gun or something in his hand” and started firing, court records showed.
“I didn’t even see Mr. Tucker coming from the side of my truck. And when I did, I panicked and I reacted. And I ended Mr. Derrick Tucker’s life,” Miles said.
“That was the worst thing I’ve ever done and that was the worst version of me I’ve ever been,” he later added. “This horrible crime I committed is inexcusable and I wake up to that fact every day.”
Police never found a weapon near Tucker’s body, and two witnesses told jurors the victim was simply walking toward Miles after he stood in his doorway and called Tucker over to him.
Parole board members, however, noted affidavits written by two neighbors who said they saw Tucker holding a large revolver while beating on the side of Miles’ truck moments before the shooting. It was not clear if those witnesses testified at Miles' trial.
“You did not go looking for the trouble, the trouble came to you on your family property," Barras said.