NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A man convicted for his role in a gunfight that killed one bystander and left nine people injured on New Orleans’ famous Bourbon Street was sentenced Monday to 60 years in prison, the maximum penalty.
State District Judge Byron Williams sentenced Trung Le, 22, to 40 years for manslaughter in the death of Brittany Thomas of Hammond. The judge sentenced him to 20 years for attempted manslaughter for firing at the other gunman – who has never been captured or identified. The sentences will be served consecutively.
“I wish that I could sentence you to more,” Williams told Le, who stood silently as the sentence was pronounced. Williams said Le had “dodged the proverbial bullet” when a jury found him guilty of manslaughter on Jan. 15. He had been charged with second-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence in Louisiana.
The gunfight broke out early on June 29, 2014, as tourists walked the famous street of nightspots in the historic French Quarter.
Thomas’ mother was present in the courtroom and told reporters later she was satisfied with the sentence. During the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Laura Rodrigue noted that Thomas, a nursing student, would have turned 23 this year.