A Lafayette Parish grand jury has agreed with a Carencro man’s claim that he acted in defense of his family when he shot another man on the Fourth of July.
Darren Vicknair, 53, was booked into jail in connection with the shooting that left Benorian Leonard, 18, dead. He was booked with being a felon in possession of a firearm, because he has a previous drug conviction and wasn’t supposed to have a gun.
The members of the grand jury wrote that they determined “that there is no evidence of a criminal act by Darren Vicknair.”
At the time of the shooting, we made a public records request to the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office for details on the incident.
According to the arrest affidavit, Leonard walked from a house on Lindsey Circle to Vicknair’s home there, carrying a shotgun. He allegedly refused to leave, and made threats that he was going to shoot everyone there. He then allegedly cocked the shotgun and pointed it at Vicknair’s daughter and her friend, the affidavit states. Vicknair fired three rounds at Leonard, striking him in the arm and in the chest, the affidavit states.
