A family argument in Lake Charles turned deadly on the afternoon of Sunday, December 3, 2023. Police say 33-year-old Raymond Charles Lastrapes was found in the driveway of a West McNeese Street home with a fatal gunshot wound. Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene.

Investigators report the shooting followed a verbal dispute among family members. Authorities allege 61-year-old James Alan Mueller retrieved a firearm from inside the house and shot his son-in-law, Lastrapes. Lake Charles Police detectives arrested Mueller and charged him with one count of second-degree murder; a judge set bond at $850,000 and he is being held at the Calcasieu Correctional Center. The investigation is ongoing.

If anyone in the neighborhood witnessed the argument or the events on West McNeese Street that afternoon, please share what was seen or heard.