Defendant pleads not guilty as jury hears opening statements and witness accounts in Beaumont double-homicide trial

A defendant pleaded not guilty and a Jefferson County jury heard opening statements and the first witness accounts Tuesday in the joint trial of two killings that prosecutors say followed an armed home invasion in Beaumont on April 10, 2023.

Prosecutor Mister Smith told jurors the evidence will show the defendant, Paul Edward Westbrooks Jr., and others went to a house on or near LG Street shortly after Easter and forced their way inside before two men later died. “The evidence is gonna show you that April 10, 2023 is the day right after Easter of that year,” Smith told jurors in his opening statement, summarizing the state's narrative of events.

Why it matters: The court is trying two linked indictments together — Cause No. 23DCCR0328 and 23DCCR0329 — that allege capital murder and felony murder arising from an alleged robbery in which two people were fatally shot. The jury will decide whether the state proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant participated in the robbery and the killings.

What happened in court: The judge read the two indictments aloud to the courtroom and the defendant entered pleas of not guilty to both charges. The court empaneled the jury and instructed witnesses under the rule (sequestration) not to observe others’ testimony.

In opening statements, Smith described what he said would be a unified account from the state’s witnesses: that three people went to the home of Ahmad Hayden (also known in the record as “Pyro”), confronted occupants at gunpoint, demanded money and drugs, and that the confrontation escalated. “This is gonna show you that Mr. Hayden was not home at the time that Mr. Westbrooks, Mr. Ivory, and Mr. Dotson go into the house,” Smith said, adding that the state would present body-worn camera footage and a recorded 911 call.

Defense attorney Mister Vasquez declined to give a detailed opening, saying he would respond to the state's presentation and that jurors would have reason to doubt whether Westbrooks participated in the events described by the state.

Evidence and witness testimony: The court admitted State’s Exhibit 1 — a recorded 911 call tied to the incident — and State’s Exhibit 7 — a body-worn camera recording from an officer who responded. Jake Tyler Best, identified in court as a Beaumont Police Department sergeant, testified that he responded to a call at about 2 a.m. and described finding multiple officers on scene and two victims who were fatally wounded. Best described the house at 1830 LG Street and acknowledged that officers called detectives to take over the investigation.

Carlton Ray Mason, who said he had been staying at the residence with Ahmad Hayden in the weeks before the incident, testified he hid under the front steps when people entered the home. Mason told the jury he saw a white Ford Expedition at the end of the road earlier the same night and that, after an initial confrontation inside the house, three shots were fired in the rear of the residence. Mason described seeing two people later removed from the home by officers and said one victim, whom he identified as Ahmad Hayden, died immediately.

Melissa Jordan, who testified she lived at the house, described being forced onto the floor at gunpoint during the incident. Jordan said the intruders demanded “Pyro” (a nickname used in the testimony for Ahmad Hayden), that they held occupants at gunpoint, and that at one moment an intruder warned he would shoot one of the women if demands were not met. Jordan testified she heard a gunshot and, after a scuffle, that she believed both victims were shot; she told the jury, “I swear I heard him say 'I'm dead,'” when describing what she believed she heard from one of the victims.

Other trial matters: The prosecutor told jurors that Dijon Ivory, a co-defendant, has pleaded guilty and was returned from TDC to testify. The court admitted photographs and a map of the scene (State’s Exhibits 2–6) to aid jurors’ understanding of the property layout.

Formal court actions recorded: the two indictments were read into the record; the defendant entered not guilty pleas to both causes; the jury was sworn; the court invoked the rule (sequestration) for witnesses; and several state exhibits (including the 911 recording and an officer body-cam video) were admitted into evidence.

Next steps: The state called additional witnesses and said it would present forensic evidence, including autopsy testimony, as the trial continues. The judge recessed for the day and ordered the jury to return for further proceedings at 8:30 a.m. the following day.

For the record: The two cause numbers at issue are 23DCCR0328 and 23DCCR0329 in the Criminal District Court of Jefferson County. The allegations in the indictments reference events on or about April 10, 2023, in Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas.