PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WALB) — The parents of a 23-year-old South Georgia man who was shot and killed inside a Panama City home say they won’t stop fighting until they get justice—not only against the man accused of killing their son, but also against the police department they believe failed to prevent his death.

Lucas Daughtry, of Pelham, Georgia, was killed during the early morning hours of July 11, 2026, after investigators say Preston Marquise Roulhac broke into a home on West 21st Street and opened fire.

>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: South Georgia man shot and killed in Florida <<

Now, Daughtry’s parents, Jennifer Witter and Bobbie Daughtry, say they have retained an attorney and are pursuing legal action following an internal investigation that resulted in one Panama City police officer being fired and another demoted.

“We’re gonna take care of this, Lucas,” Bobbie Daughtry said. “You don’t have to worry. We won’t stop until we get justice.”

Fatal shooting

According to the Panama City Police Department, officers responded to reports of gunfire at approximately 4:04 a.m. on July 11 at a home in the 3700 block of West 21st Street. When officers arrived, they found Daughtry dead inside the residence with multiple gunshot wounds.

Investigators determined Roulhac had unlawfully entered the home of his ex-girlfriend after becoming angry she was in a new relationship. Police say he fatally shot Daughtry with an AK-47 before attempting to shoot his ex-girlfriend as she fled the home. She was not injured.

Daughtry’s family said investigators later told them Lucas had been asleep when he was shot seven times.

Authorities said Roulhac fled the scene in a 2023 Chrysler 300. Flock License Plate Reader technology later identified the vehicle traveling north on Highway 390 toward Lynn Haven.

Police attempted a traffic stop, but investigators say Roulhac fled before crashing near Highway 390 and Alaska Circle. He then ran into what Panama City Police Chief Mark Smith described as a “heavily wooded and swampy area.”

“That pursuit went north on 390 up into Lynn Haven, and then across 390 as if you were headed toward 231,” Smith said. “He failed to negotiate the curves in the road just prior to East Avenue heading eastbound and flipped his car over in a ditch, and then fled on foot.”

Roulhac was eventually taken into custody in the Mowat Highlands area without incident.

According to Bay County jail records, Roulhac is charged with second-degree felony murder while engaged in a burglary and is being held without bond on that charge.

He also faces charges of homicide during the commission of a felony that could cause death, burglary of an occupied dwelling, grand theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement with disregard for safety, child neglect causing great bodily harm, child abuse without great bodily harm, trafficking methamphetamine and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana.

Excluding the murder charge, the bonds listed in jail records total $2.475 million.

Roulhac is represented by attorney Harold Deon Thompson of Denovo Law, P.A. A request for comment submitted to Thompson’s office had not been returned as of publication.

A 911 call before the shooting

For Daughtry’s parents, the criminal case is only part of the story.

They believe warning signs in the hours—and weeks—leading up to the shooting should have prompted a stronger law enforcement response.

Witter said her son had told her on multiple occasions that Roulhac had been stalking and harassing his ex-girlfriend.

“He would come to me and say, ‘Mama, he keeps doing it,’” Witter recalled. “And I said, ‘Well, you don’t get involved in it. You stay out of it. You tell her what she needs to do. She needs to get the law involved.’”

She said Daughtry told her Roulhac had previously broken into the woman’s home, burned her clothes and even left his debit card behind for her to buy more.

According to Witter, police had previously advised the woman to install cameras and change the locks on the home. She said the locks had recently been changed before the shooting.

According to the Panama City Police Department, a 911 caller contacted dispatch at approximately 10:30 p.m. on July 10—about five and a half hours before the shooting—to report Roulhac was driving past the home and sending threatening text messages about Daughtry to his girlfriend.

Police said Officer Murrell handled the call by telephone and never responded to the scene. The officer’s supervising sergeant was aware of the incident but failed to properly oversee the response.

Following an internal investigation, Officer Murrell was fired and the supervising sergeant was demoted to police officer.

>> MORE COVERAGE: Panama City officer fired, sergeant demoted after South Georgia man’s murder <<

The police department released the following statement regarding this case on Aug. 3:

“That’s not enough”

For Lucas’ parents, the department’s disciplinary action fell short.

“The officers should have came because the guy, Roulhac, was actually sending threatening texts to my son,” Witter said. “They should have at least pulled him over and got him for terroristic threats and locked him up. And none of this would have happened.”

Bobbie Daughtry said law enforcement officers should be held to the same standards as anyone else.

“Just because you’re a law enforcement official doesn’t give you the higher authority to take upon yourself to do what you want to do,” he said. “You have laws and regulations and rules you have to follow just like anyone else in a professional business.”

The couple said they believe criminal charges—not just internal discipline—should be considered against those involved in the failed response.

They also questioned why the police department publicly identified the fired officer but has not publicly identified the demoted supervisor.

“When you get a call, it don’t matter if it’s something simple, something you came to numerous times, you still got to go,” Witter said. “You can’t wait till someone’s dead or dying to go help them or respond. You could have at least patrolled the area.”

The Panama City Police Department was contacted for comment regarding whether additional disciplinary action is being considered. The department had not responded as of publication.

Remembering Lucas

Long before he became the victim in a homicide investigation, Lucas Daughtry was simply the third youngest of all his siblings —a son whose family says never wanted to be left out.

Born on Valentine’s Day, Witter said the holiday suited his personality perfectly.

“When they say Valentine’s Day is about love, that’s what he was about,” she said.

Whether she was running errands or making plans, Lucas wanted to be there.

“He would say, ‘What are you doing today? Where are you going? Oh, you think you’re fixing to go somewhere without me?’”

His father said that habit started when Lucas was a little boy.

“I couldn’t go to the store without him squalling to get in the car,” Bobbie Daughtry said. “It didn’t matter if I was going to put gas in the car or whatever. It was just always him wanting to go.”

His family remembers him as someone who loved making people laugh.

“He would look at me and I would look at him. We’d never say anything and we’d just bust out laughing,” Witter said. “It never failed when we went somewhere. He was always a comedian.”

Daughtry worked as a fabricator in manufacturing and welding but had recently begun exploring a career in the oil industry. His mother said he had already planned a trip to Texas to meet with industry contacts.

He had also purchased a 1979 Camaro and was rebuilding it himself.

His father said Lucas loved children and was always drawn to family.

“He loved kids,” Bobbie Daughtry said. “He didn’t care whose children it was.”

The last conversation

The last time Witter spoke with her son was the evening before he died.

She said Lucas called while eating dinner at Texas Roadhouse before heading back to his girlfriend’s home to sleep.

The family had already packed kayaks, a canoe, food and water for a trip to the springs in Marianna the following morning.

“Something just told me to call him,” Witter said. “I normally don’t bother him on the weekends when he’s doing his thing. He usually calls me.”

She said she had no reason to believe he was in danger.

“I know my son. If he felt like he was in any danger, he wouldn’t have went to sleep that night.”

Hours later, her daughter woke her with devastating news.

“She said, ‘Mama, something’s happened to Lucas. Get up now.’”

Pursuing justice

The Daughtry’s confirmed they have retained an attorney and are pursuing legal action, though they declined to discuss specifics because the case is pending.

“We did that before anything,” Witter said. “We’re on top of everything.”

When asked what motivates them, both parents said the answer is simple.

“He didn’t deserve to have his life taken like this,” Bobbie Daughtry said. “No one’s going to sit here and just take an innocent person’s life just because they were hating and jealous.”

For Witter, the grief remains overwhelming.

“He would always say, ‘Mama, don’t cry,’” she said. “He could always read me.”

She said she often finds herself stepping away to cry and asking herself whether everything that happened is real.

But she says the family’s mission has never changed.

“We’re gonna take care of this, Lucas,” Bobbie Daughtry said. “You don’t have to worry. We won’t stop until we get justice.”

Lucas Daughtry is survived by his mother, father and four siblings.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Panama City Police Department at (850) 872-3100 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 785-TIPS.

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