Inset (left): Antoine Cloutier (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department). Inset (right): Rafael Ampier Jr. (GoFundMe). Background: The Las Vegas, Nevada, neighborhood where Antoine Cloutier shot Rafael Ampier Jr. (Google Maps).
A Nevada man who admitted to shooting the landlord who wanted to evict him will be living in prison for the next few years.
Antoine Cloutier, 49, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter with use of a deadly weapon after taking an Alford plea. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to six to 15 years in prison, five years after the fatal shooting death of 44-year-old Rafael Ampier Jr.
Under an Alford plea, a defendant maintains their innocence while acknowledging that the state has enough evidence to convict them at trial.
According to reporting on the case by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Cloutier was living with his wife and child in a home where he was renting a room from Ampier. On Sept. 10, 2021, Ampier and Cloutier got into an argument after Ampier had repeatedly asked Cloutier to move out.
During their altercation, Cloutier shot Ampier in the back, killing him.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that during a preliminary hearing, Ampier's family members testified that Ampier was a previous renter at the same house where Cloutier and his family lived. After negotiating with the home's landlord, Ampier took over the home's lease and became the landlord. At some point, Ampier informed Cloutier that he and his family were being asked to move out of the home.
According to witness testimony, Ampier initially gave Cloutier time, but the situation came to a head on Sept. 10, 2021, when Cloutier and his family had not yet moved out. The two men had a confrontation in the home's garage that became physical. After they both struggled with a knife, Cloutier got his hands on a firearm and shot Ampier.
The medical examiner said the bullet entered Ampier's back and lodged in the right side of his chest.
Cloutier's defense attorney claimed that the gun was discharged during the fight. However, according to reporting by local CBS affiliate KLAS, police said Cloutier fled the scene before he was apprehended the following day. Local ABC affiliate KTNV reported that Cloutier tried to claim that he thought Ampier was a threat to his wife. He reportedly admitted to the shooting when he was caught by police.
Ampier left behind six children. A GoFundMe for his family is still active.
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