Man faces 10-50 years in prison for shooting stepdaughter

The Morgan City man convicted of shooting his stepdaughter in 2020 will be sentenced in August after a jury found him guilty last week of attempted murder, 16th Judicial District Attorney Bo Duhé's office said.

The 16th JDC jury found Troy Watson, 61, Headland Street, guilty of attempted second-degree murder June 9. On Aug. 23, District Judge Keith Comeaux could sentence Watson to 10 to 50 years without probation or parole.

The Morgan City Police Department investigated the case.

According to the DA's Office, on May 21, 2020, Watson argued with the victim. Law enforcement responded and separated Watson from the victim, identified in media accounts at the time as Shaquille Thomas.

Later that evening and into the early morning hours, the victim was lying in bed with her young child when Watson entered her room and shot her point blank in the forehead.

Watson admitted that he shot the victim. After further investigation, he also admitted that he test-fired the gun before committing the offense in order to make sure that it was working properly.

The victim survived but was hospitalized for 40 days, the DA's Office said.

Assistant District Attorney Craig Colwart, who along with ADA Brady Holtzclaw prosecuted the case, said Thomas was taken to Ochsner St. Mary and then transferred to University Medical Center in New Orleans. She continues to undergo physical therapy but was not called as a witness to her own shooting because she has no memory of the crime, Colwart said.

When the victim was still hospitalized, family members criticized the handling of the original call to police.

“Law enforcement should see that if someone calls 911 for a situation involving domestic violence, the parties should be separated. They should not be left in the same home when someone is calling for help,” Ronald Haley, an attorney for the Thomas family, told KLFY in 2020.

Police said they found no reason to believe a crime had been committed during the initial call about the argument and took steps to calm the situation before leaving the home, Colwart said.