A Las Vegas man who shot his landlord in the back during a heated dispute over moving out of a rental home has been sentenced to six to 15 years in prison, more than five years after the killing. Antoine Cloutier, 49, was ordered to prison this week after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter with use of a deadly weapon in the September 2021 death of Rafael Ampier Jr., 44.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Cloutier entered an Alford plea in July, a legal maneuver that lets a defendant accept a conviction while maintaining innocence, acknowledging only that prosecutors had enough evidence to secure a conviction without requiring a formal admission of guilt. District Judge Michelle Leavitt rejected Cloutier's bid for probation at sentencing and instead imposed the six-to-15-year prison term.
The shooting happened at a home in the 6900 block of Montcliff Avenue, near West Flamingo Road and South Rainbow Boulevard, where Cloutier, his wife, their child, Ampier and Ampier's girlfriend were all living at the time, per the Review-Journal's reporting. Ampier had taken over the house lease through negotiations with the landlord, and witness testimony described him telling Cloutier and his family they needed to move out. They had not done so by the night of the shooting.
A Garage Fight Turns Deadly
A fight broke out in the home's garage, during which Cloutier and Ampier struggled over a knife before Cloutier brandished a firearm and fatally shot him, according to case facts reported by the Review-Journal. The Clark County coroner's medical examiner determined Ampier suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the right back of the chest.
The 2021 shooting drew immediate attention from local outlets. A Review-Journal report from that September said Cloutier told police he shot Ampier because Ampier had slammed his head into the ground and begun attacking his wife, prompting him to fire. The Las Vegas Sun reported that police described the encounter as starting with an argument after Cloutier was asked to move out, which escalated into a physical altercation during which Cloutier produced a firearm and shot the victim. Officers who responded found Ampier in the driveway, and he was later pronounced dead at University Medical Center.
Cloutier, then 44, was arrested without incident on September 11, 2021, and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on one count of open murder, the Sun's report noted. That charge was ultimately resolved through this year's plea agreement to the lesser manslaughter count.
Family Speaks at Sentencing
At sentencing, Ampier's mother, Delfina Razo, said her son did not deserve to be shot in the back, and told the court she would never see him again and that he would miss future family milestones. Jacqueline Ampier, the victim's sister, said the killing caused immense suffering for the family and described her brother as a good role model.
Cloutier's attorney, Augustus Claus, had asked Judge Leavitt to impose probation instead of prison time, arguing that the firearm discharged during an active fight rather than in a premeditated act. Cloutier himself expressed sincere sorrow over the shooting, according to the Review-Journal's account of the proceedings, but the judge ultimately denied the request for probation and ordered him to serve the six-to-15-year term.
