Morgan City man found guilty in Nov. 2014 shooting, vehicle theft

A jury found a Morgan City man guilty Wednesday of attempted murder and attempted manslaughter in a November 2014 shooting during which he also stole a vehicle at a home, according to a news release from the 16th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Carlos Cespedes, 49, of Morgan City, was found guilty of one count of attempted second-degree murder, one count of attempted manslaughter, one count of unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling and one count of theft of a motor vehicle.
On Nov. 14, 2014, the Morgan City Police Department received a complaint of shots being fired in the 400 block of Seventh Street. Responding officers spoke with the two victims who identified Cespedes as the shooter.
Police learned that Cespedes was discovered in the home of one of the victims upon their returning home after work. Cespedes pointed a silver revolver at one victim then the other before firing the weapon. The victims fled from the home with Cespedes following them firing two more shots before the gun malfunctioned, the release said.
Neither victim was hit during the shooting.
Cespedes then left the scene in one of the victim's automobiles. In addition to the testimony of eyewitnesses, a portion of the offense was captured on surveillance video, the release said.
Cespedes was later arrested Nov. 22, 2014, by the Louisiana Attorney General's Office Fugitive Apprehension Unit in New Orleans East. The victim's automobile was discovered four days later having been abandoned in a wooded area of New Orleans East, the release said.
The jury was selected on Tuesday and heard evidence and arguments of the attorneys Wednesday. After deliberating for about an hour and a half, the jury returned its verdicts at 5:40 p.m. Wednesday. Cespedes will be sentenced March 3, 2017, before the Judge Keith Comeaux, the release said.
Cespedes faces a sentence of 10 to 50 years at hard labor without parole for the attempted second-degree murder conviction and up to 40 years at hard labor on the attempted manslaughter conviction.
The unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling conviction carries a maximum sentence of seven years, with or without hard labor. The theft of a motor vehicle conviction carries to up to 10 years, with or without hard labor.