By CALEB FREY

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE – An 85-year-old St. John Parish man will be spending the remainder of his days behind bars after being sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for the Sept. 1, 2005 shooting of his 55-year-old-son.

Voorheis &#8220V.J.” Theriot of LaPlace was convicted of second-degree murder in May for killing his son, Lawrence Theriot, whom he shot in the hand, chest and once in the forehead at their residence on Camelia Avenue, according to authorities.

The shooting took place just three days after Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast.

Theriot’s attorney Thomas Damico argued during the trial that the shooting was in self-defense but prosecutor William O’Regan argued that the crime was premeditated.

O’Regan pointed out that Theriot had admitted to the shooting when first taken into custody, according to the incident report filed by St. John deputies.

Theriot also proclaimed to his wife that he was going to shoot his son prior to the incident.

Judge Mary Hotard Becnel handed down the sentence of life in prison at hard labor without the possibility of parole.

Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3337 asked Becnel to remove the hard labor portion of the sentence so he could serve his time in LaPlace.

Becnel said the law required she uphold the hard labor portion of the sentencing and that the placement of criminals was out of her hands and up to the state Department of Corrections.

Theriot was active both in veterans’ affairs and in the community at large.

He successfully led the push for term limits for the St. John Parish Council and parish president, which was finally approved in 1996.

He was also a driving force in attracting the War Veterans Home in Reserve.