Man who drunkenly killed two Lewis and Clark students in car crash sentenced to 12 years in prison

A judge sentenced a Spokane Valley man who killed a Lewis and Clark High School graduate and student in a drunken driving crash last year to 12 years in prison.

Jesse Roullier, 34, pleaded guilty this month to two counts of vehicular homicide in the deaths of 18-year-old Rogan Murrell and 17-year-old Jayneat Morgan. He also pleaded guilty to one count of vehicular assault for injuring 18-year-old Noah Laitinen.

The three teenagers were driving south on State Route 27 near Rockford in July 2024 when Roullier, who was coming back from drinking at a casino, crossed the center line of the road and hit the teens head-on.

Murrell and Laitinen had both recently graduated from Lewis and Clark High School. Morgan was a student and part of the high school’s Tiger Drama Thespian Troupe. Murrell had planned to attend college to study computer science, according to previous Spokesman-Review reporting.

According to a press release from the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office, Roullier’s blood alcohol content at the time of the crash was twice the legal limit.