Judge changes Chandler murder conviction to manslaughter

A judge has found Charles Chandler II, originally convicted May 7 of second-degree murder in the April 2013 shooting death of Wade Blackburn Jr. in Bayou Vista, guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter, according to St. Mary Parish Clerk of Court records.
Chandler, 23, of Bayou Vista, was found guilty May 7 in 16th Judicial District Court on the charges of second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in the April 29, 2013, shooting death of Blackburn, 18, of Bayou Vista.
On June 24, Chandler’s attorney Richard Spears motioned for a post-verdict judgment of acquittal based on evidence presented at trial. In the motion, Spears stated that the evidence in the case was insufficient to support finding Chandler guilty of second-degree murder.
On June 25, Judge Anthony Thibodeaux granted Spears’ motion and found Chandler guilty of manslaughter.
Spears said in the motion, “The evidence presented regarding the defendant’s responsibility for the pulling of the trigger viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution cannot support the verdict.”
During the trial, prosecutors called multiple witnesses who said they were present at or near 1220 Columbus Ave. in Bayou Vista where Blackburn was shot and killed April 29, 2013. Witnesses described a “tussle” that took place at the residence after Chandler arrived with a semi-automatic handgun looking for Blackburn.
Upon Blackburn coming out of the house to see Chandler, Chandler pointed the gun in Blackburn’s face, witnesses testified. At some point during the encounter, a struggle for the gun ensued at which time two or three shots were fired, witnesses said. Blackburn was hit by one shot in the abdomen, which proved fatal.
In his motion for post-verdict judgment of acquittal, Spears referenced the testimony during the trial that described a “tussle” and that the gun went off.
“Most witnesses testified that the victim grabbed the gun and struggled over it and that while they were engaged in a fight, the gun discharged,” Spears stated.
Therefore, Spears said “no reasonable trier of fact should have found the defendant guilty.”
Assistant District Attorney Anthony Saleme, who prosecuted the case, said he is appealing the June 25 ruling in the 1st Circuit Louisiana Court of Appeal in Baton Rouge. Thibodeaux granted the prosecution’s motion to delay sentencing in the case.
Thibodeaux had originally scheduled Chandler’s sentencing date for May 28 on second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon charges. The only possible sentence for a second degree murder conviction is life in prison without the possibility of parole.
During the trial, Dr. Cynthia Gardner, a forensic pathologist, testified that the gun was touching Blackburn’s abdomen when the shot hit him, causing massive internal bleeding.
Saleme said witness statements indicated that Chandler went to the Columbus Avenue residence intending to kill or inflict great bodily harm – the legal language that defines murder – to Blackburn and produced a gun without any provocation.
At trial, Spears, said in his closing arguments that none of the witnesses actually saw Chandler pull the trigger on the gun, and most witnesses stated both Chandler’s and Blackburn’s hands were on the gun during the struggle, he said. Chandler chose not to testify during the trial.
While investigating Blackburn’s death, St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives located a.45-caliber semi-automatic handgun at Chandler’s home on Sun Road in Bayou Vista that was determined to have fired a shell casing located at the scene of the shooting and was consistent with the bullet found in Blackburn’s body, Saleme said.
Chandler was arrested within hours after the shooting when detectives stopped a truck at Saturn Road and Venus Street in Bayou Vista. Chandler was a passenger in the vehicle.
According to an affidavit, Chandler told witnesses that “Blackburn had screwed him over many times,” and Blackburn had lied to Chandler. The affidavit also stated, on the date of the shooting, that Chandler and Blackburn had gotten into an altercation at Cash Magic Casino with both eventually leaving the casino. Chandler had been “feuding” with Blackburn for about a week before the shooting for unknown specific reasons, the affidavit said.

This story was written by Zachary Fitzgerald of The Daily Review staff. Reach him at zfitzgerald@daily-review.com.