Brandon Scott Lavergne Asks Judge to Void Guilty Pleas

Brandon Scott Lavergne has asked a judge to void his guilty pleas in August on the two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Mickey Shunick and Lisa Pate.

Lavergne entered the pleas two months after the high profile disappearance of UL student Mickey Shunick, who of course disappeared while riding her bicycle home from downtown Lafayette.

The Shunick case revived an older investigation into the 1999 death of Lisa Pate. Lavergne had long been a suspect in the older killing.

Lavergne has now filed hand-written court motions seeking to void the pleas and the life sentence. He now alleges he felt pressure to plead guilty because he was facing a possible death penalty.