By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

HAHNVILLE – A LaPlace man was sentenced to 12 years in jail after pleading guilty to attempted first-degree murder charges stemming from a 2007 shooting in the Bonnet Carre Spillway.

Roy McDaniel, 30, of 1061 Whitlow Court, who was arrested in April in Mississippi on an unrelated incident, was charged with shooting his girlfriend at the time five times following an argument. Sgt. Dwayne LaGrange, spokesman for the St. Charles Sheriff’s Office, said McDaniel was driving back to LaPlace from Mississippi with the woman on April 23, 2007, when the two began arguing with each other.

“Both individuals had been arguing most of the day, and it went on for some time until McDaniel eventually pulled his car over at his girlfriend’s request,” LaGrange said. “They pulled over in a secluded area of the spillway and the girlfriend exited the vehicle and walked away. As she walked back toward the vehicle, McDaniel allegedly pulled out a gun and opened fire, shooting her multiple times.”

According to a report from the Sheriff’s Office, the girlfriend was struck five times. Three bullets hit her left arm, one struck her stomach and another hit her in the chest just above the heart.

Following the shooting, McDaniel helped his girlfriend back into the car and drove her to River Parishes Hospital in LaPlace, LaGrange said. She was later transferred to University Hospital in New Orleans, where she underwent emergency surgery.

“The girlfriend likely survived the shooting because McDaniel quickly got her to the hospital after the incident,” LaGrange said. “After dropping her at the emergency room, McDaniel immediately fled the scene.”

While on the run from St. Charles Parish, McDaniel was arrested in Mississippi on the unrelated charges. McDaniel served out his sentence in Mississippi and was extradited to St. Charles, where he was booked into the Nelson Coleman Correctional Facility, nearly four years after the shooting.