Defense is a "croc" in Louisiana murder trial
CUT OFF, La. - It is probably the first time ever that a murder suspect has used the "alligator defense" to explain why he killed a man.
Robert Chouest, 31, is on trial for fatally shooting Shawn Glajour, 41, who was found lying in his neighbors' driveway in Cut Off, Louisiana. During opening statements Wednesday, Chouest's attorney said his client had been on drugs for days and thought the victim was an alligator, CBS affiliate WWL reported.
Prosecutors, however, maintain that Chouest committed second-degree murder when he shot Galjour, of Larose, in the head with a Browning rifle, in the pre-dawn hours of May 22, 2013.
According to the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office, Galjour walked onto ABC Lane in Cut Off, about 40 miles southwest of New Orleans. About 25 minutes later, deputies responded to a shooting and found Galjour's body next to the defendant's home, in the driveway of Chouest's grandparents.
Sheriff's Office reports say Chouest shot Galjour from about 50 yards away after he called out to Galjour and the man didn't respond. Assistant District Attorney Annette Fontana said Chouest then retrieved the gun, "got into a stable kneeling position," and using the rifle scope, fired.
"The defendant shot to kill Shawn Galjour," Fontana said. "This was a senseless murder."
Defense attorney George Ledet Jr. presented a different story.
Chouest had been awake for two or three days before the shooting, using cocaine, methamphetamine, prescription pills and alcohol, Ledet said. Detectives have said Chouest told them he smoked crack before the incident, but the other drugs weren't previously mentioned.
Ledet said his client often hunted on the property he and his family lived on, shooting rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, possums and coyotes. When Chouest's grandfather told him an alligator was living in his culvert, Ledet said, Chouest wanted to kill it.
The animal eventually left, and Chouest's grandfather blocked the culvert. But when Chouest saw Galjour lying in the driveway, Ledet claimed, "he thought he was shooting an alligator."
The defendant's statements to authorities suggesting he knew his target was human were fueled by fear of his family finding out about his drug use, Ledet said.
Former Lafourche sheriff's deputy James Prestenback, who responded to the scene, said the defendant made the comment that he "wouldn't have shot if (Galjour) wouldn't have flinched."
Ledet said Chouest and the victim didn't know each other and that his client cried when he realized he had killed a person.
"Both of these young men had demons that perhaps controlled their lives, and for whatever reason, their paths met," he said.
If convicted of second-degree murder, Chouest faces life in prison.