Man pleads guilty in Bayou Vista shooting

A 24-year-old Morgan City man, originally charged with attempted second-degree murder in a July 2014 shooting in Bayou Vista, pleaded guilty March 12 to aggravated battery in the case, according to St. Mary Parish Clerk of Court records.
Cody Paul Thibodeaux, 24, of the 7200 block of La. 182 East in Morgan City, pleaded guilty March 12 to aggravated battery in the 16th Judicial District Court after he was originally charged with attempted second-degree murder July 15, 2014, according to clerk of court records. Judge Vincent Borne sentenced Thibodeaux to imprisonment of seven years hard labor, court records stated.
At the time of the incident, The Daily Review reported that St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a 911 call of a shooting near the intersection of Polaris and Saturn roads in Bayou Vista on July 15, 2014, according to a sheriff’s office news release. Deputies also received information that a vehicle fled from the area in the direction of Teche Road. While working to establish a perimeter in the area of the Bayou Vista Community Center, a deputy located a man hiding in a metal structure near one of the ball fields at the recreational facility, the release stated.
The man, identified as Thibodeaux, was detained pending further investigation. Deputies located the vehicle that fled the scene of the shooting on Teche Road near Belleview Street and discovered an injured 30-year-old man who was transported by Acadian Ambulance to a hospital in Thibodaux for treatment, the news release stated.
During the investigation, detectives learned that Thibodeaux was involved in an argument with a female on Polaris Road when the domestic altercation escalated. Thibodeaux produced a gun and fired upon the male victim, striking him in the torso and elbow, according to the release.
Thibodeaux fled the area of the shooting but was subsequently located by a deputy. The victim was treated and released from the hospital, news release stated.
Bayou Vista volunteer firefighters responded to the 1200 block of Teche Road where the victim was taken by a bullet-riddled car.
The Daily Review had previously reported that a witness, who lives in the 200 block of Polaris Road, said she heard the victim arguing on the phone prior to the shooting, saw him look down Middle Road and say “Come on, come on” to someone. The witness said, “Once I saw he was in trouble, I ran in the house.”
The witness heard several shots and looked out her kitchen window to see the victim, a black male, with blood down the side of his shirt, running down Polaris Road.
The witness saw a light-colored vehicle believed to be involved in the shooting as well as seeing the victim talking to a “white guy on a bike.”