IBERIA PARISH, La. (KLFY)– Jayden Vongchanh, 18, who was found guilty of manslaughter in a 19-year-old LSU student’s homicide has been sentenced to 40 years at hard labor, according to 16th Judicial District Attorney Bo Duhé.
Dec. 13, 2020 was the day that led to this sentencing.
Vongchanh and some friends were at a party in Iberia Parish when they were told to leave because of their disruptive behavior. As Vongchanh’s group was getting ready to leave, Vongchanh took out a handgun and shot Liam McDuff.
McDuff died from his wounds, and not too long after, Vongchanh made a social media post bragging about the shooting.
Vongchanh’s hearing was held Thursday, and impact statements from McDuff’s family, evidence that showed Vongchanh had been previously convicted of first-degree robbery as a juvenile and, while in the custody of a juvenile facility awaiting trial in this case, was convicted of second-degree battery, according to Duhé. These convictions were deemed crimes of violence.
Vongchanh was found guilty of manslaughter earlier this year in July. He was tried as an adult because of the intenseness of the charges, even though he was 17 at the time of the incident.
That same year as the incident, Vongchanh had escaped from a juvenile facility in Baton
Rouge and had been on the run for almost 60 days, as a juvenile at the time, he was not allowed to have a handgun, according to Duhé.
Vongchanh will be eligible for parole after 25 years since he was a juvenile at the time of the incident.
