A Vivian teenager involved in a drive-by shooting at a party in that north Caddo Parish town was convicted in Caddo Juvenile Court Monday, February 25, 2019, of wounding two complete strangers.
The two people, a couple, were shot on December 23, 2018, by Brandon Tyler, 16, the court determined. Tyler, charged with two counts of aggravated battery in connection with the shootings, was found guilty in a bench trial before Juvenile Judge Paul Young.
At the trial, the couple testified they were shot by Tyler, whom they did not know. The male was shot in a leg, while the woman was shot in a shoulder.
“I don’t like to label people as threats, but any time you do a shooting you endanger other citizens and that’s something we don’t want to tolerate,” said Vivian Chief of Police Ryan Nelson. “I’m still praying for this young man and hope he will realize what he did and learn from it. I hope he comes out a better man.”
Tyler has a prior conviction for burglary of a home in 2016, and another conviction for burglary of an inhabited dwelling in 2018, for which he was placed on probation until March 7, 2022 with the Office of Juvenile Justice.
Tyler faces a sentence of juvenile life, incarceration until he turns 21. He will be sentenced by Judge Young on March 4, 2019, according to Caddo Parish Assistant District Attorney David M. Newell.
Louisiana Children’s Code article 879 provides that all proceedings in a juvenile delinquency case involving a crime of violence shall be open to the public.