BEAUMONT, Texas — A Southeast Texas man has been sentenced to 99 years in a Texas prison for a 2021 Beaumont shooting that left one man dead and another paralyzed.
A Jefferson County jury sentenced Elijah Guillory just before noon on Friday after deliberating for less than an hour.
The jury found Guillory guilty on Thursday afternoon in the shooting death of Matthew Dragulski, 37, of Beaumont.
His trial began on Tuesday, July 15, 2024, in Jefferson County's Criminal District Court.
On August 25, 2021, shortly after 11 p.m. Beaumont Police responded to the 2300 block of Hayes Lane in reference to a shooting.
Upon arrival, responding officers found two victims in front of a residence suffering from gunshot wounds, according to a Beaumont Police Department release.
Dragulski, was pronounced dead at the scene. The other victim was taken to a Beaumont hospital in serious condition and was left paralyzed due to the shooting, according to file stories.
An initial investigation led detectives to believe that the two victims were in front of the residence working on vehicles when they were robbed and shot.
Prosecutor Mike Laird began his opening statements by telling the jury that the evidence that will be presented to them will show that Dragulski, was at his home working on a truck the night he was killed.
He said they will hear from a man who was working on his motorcycle alongside Dragulski who was shot and paralyzed in the same incident. He said the man will testify about watching two men shoot Dragulski.
Laird told the jury they will hear audio of the shooting but the camera did not catch video of the shooting. Laird told the jury they will hear 911 audio from a neighbor who called police as well as testimony from officers who responded.
He told them they will see body camera video from the responding officers as they talked to the man who was shot and paralyzed tell police that Dragulski had been shot too. He told the jury they will hear the paralyzed man “cry out to Jesus” asking that he not die.
He described officers using a robot to enter the house to check it out before they entered and the video shows that the home had been ransacked. When officers arrived, they found a Pitbull that had been shot and killed.
Guillory's defense attorney Tom Burbank did not give an opening statement.
In 2022, Guillory was sentenced to eight years in prison for violating his probation. Guillory was charged with two counts of burglary of a habitation, one count of aggravated robbery, one count of animal cruelty and one count of murder.
At one point, Guillory is said to have cut off his ankle monitor, according to the prosecution at the time.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.