Man pleads to attempted robbery charge in 2013 attack

A 25-year-old Patterson man pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal Tuesday to an attempted robbery charge in a June 2013 attack of a man outside an Amelia lounge, according to St. Mary Parish clerk of court records.
Paul Michael Charles, 25, of Patterson, pleaded guilty to the charge of attempted first-degree robbery. Prosecutor Anthony Saleme motioned for the remaining charge of attempted first-degree murder to be dismissed, which Judge Keith Comeaux granted, court records stated.
On June 14, 2013, St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call on Barrow Street in Amelia in regard to a report of a person being shot, according to an affidavit.
Deputies learned that the male victim was in the area near the Greenwood overpass when three men attempted to rob him at gunpoint, the affidavit said. The victim tried to fight off one of the men, who shot the victim, the affidavit said.
The victim was treated for his injuries at a hospital.
Detectives learned from the victim that as he was attempting to leave a lounge, the men approached him under the pretense of wanting to sell him drugs. When the victim refused, one man pulled out a gun, and the two other men “jumped him in his truck and began hitting him, trying to get his wallet,” the affidavit said.
While the victim was trying to get the two men off of him, the third man shot him in the neck.
The round went through the victim’s chest, pierced his lung and rested near his spine. After he was shot, he was able to get away from the suspects and went back to his home. He was flown by air med to a hospital for emergency surgery, the affidavit said.
During an interview with detectives, the victim identified Charles as the man who shot him.
Charles’ sentencing date is set for Oct. 24. He faces up to 20 years in jail and agreed to testify at any trial of his co-defendants.
Two other men were identified as the other suspects in the attack.
Dwayne Anthony Skinner, 24, of Morgan City, pleaded guilty in October 2015 to the charge of attempted first-degree robbery, and the other charges against him of attempted armed robbery with a firearm, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia were dismissed.
Joseph Arron Cagnolatti, 21, of Morgan City, still faces the charges of attempted first-degree murder, attempted armed robbery and attempted armed robbery with use of a firearm in the same case.