On Thursday, January 25, 2024, a Lafayette jury found Eldridge Thomas, Jr. guilty of Attempted Second Degree Murder of 54-year-old John Cedric Chaisson, stemming from a 2018 shooting near Westside Elementary School in Scott, the 15 th Judicial District announced today.
According to Darlene Monette, Legal Assistant, Thomas, Jr. was also found guilty of Home lnvasion, Aggravated Flight from an Officer, and Aggravated Burglary. District Judge Cynthia Spadoni ordered that a Pre-Sentence lnvestigation from Louisiana Department of Corrections be completed by April 4 of 2024.
The shooting occurred on September 4, 2018, at 7:32 am on Marina Avenue, just a block from the elementary school, as parents and children were walking to school. The shooting resulted in the lockdown of the school until Thomas Jr. was apprehended by authorities. School bus video and the victim’s home surveillance video revealed that Thomas Jr. fired a handgun numerous times at Chaisson, with one round striking the victim, as maintained by Monette. Chaisson was taken to a local hospital for treatment and survived.