A Jefferson Parish jury has found one former Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputy involved in the deadly shooting of an unarmed man guilty of negligent homicide and a second deputy not guilty in connection with the same case.
On Friday night, the jury returned a guilty verdict against Isaac Hughes and an acquittal of Jonathan Lewis. According to our partners at WWL-TV, that verdict came after three days of testimony and five hours of closing arguments.
The two were charged in connection with the 2022 shooting of Daniel Vallee. Prosecutors argued that Lewis and Hughes were unjustified when, according to body camera video, they fired 27 bullets into Vallee while investigating a noise complaint. The defense argued that the deputies acted in self-defense, noting that Vallee failed to comply with the deputies’ directive to exit his vehicle and that, at the time, they did not know if Vallee was armed and reaching for a gun.
The jury had the option to convict the pair on a manslaughter charge. However, the jury opted to convict Hughes on the lesser charge.
Hughes now faces up to five years in prison.
