A Caddo Parish Jury convicted a Shreveport man Monday, September 30, 2019, in connection with the slaying of another man in early 2018 in the city’s Broadmoor neighborhood.
Bryan Scott Gibson II, 37, was convicted of manslaughter by an 11-1 majority of the six-man, six-woman sequestered jury, with regard to the fatal shooting January 3, 2018, of Larry Davis in Gibson’s residence in the 100 block of Southfield Road.
Gibson pleaded self-defense in the trial, which began September 23, 2019 in District Judge John D. Mosely Jr.’s court. Davis, 59, was shot following a dispute. Gibson retrieved a handgun from a tenant living in a backyard apartment at the Southfield Road address. In a 9-1-1 call, Gibson claimed Davis, described as a combat veteran and Gibson’s best friend, had struck him in the head with a walking cane. The motive behind the dispute remains unclear but evidence elicited in the trial suggested that Davis had accused Gibson of taking his pain medication prior to their dispute. Gibson claimed Davis was angry that the backyard apartment tenant had called police earlier that day and accused Davis of stealing his handgun.
Gibson had painted swastikas, a pentagram and a Confederate flag on his wall. Davis, the victim, had a prior murder conviction in Texas and was suspected of being a member of the Aryan Brotherhood.
Gibson originally was indicted on a charge of second-degree murder, docket No. 354739.
The prosecution was handled by Assistant District Attorneys William Edwards and Treneisha Hill. Gibson was represented by Randall Fish.
When Gibson returns to Judge Mosely’s court for sentencing October 28, 2019, he faces a sentence of up to 40 years at hard labor.