One convicted in death of man dumped in canal
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AMITE — A Tangipahoa Parish jury convicted the first of four men believed to have killed a Ponchatoula man and dumped him in a Manchac canal in March 2007, Assistant District Attorney Jeff Johnson said Thursday.
The jury unanimously returned a verdict of guilty of second-degree murder against Ronnie Allen, 27, of Ponchatoula, after deliberating for about a half hour Wednesday at the parish courthouse in Amite, Johnson said.
Allen beat Clarence Nicholes, 53, of Ponchatoula, on the head and threw him into one of the canals that run underneath the Interstate 55 bridge leading to Manchac, commonly referred to as the Manchac canal, Johnson said. Nicholes’ cause of death was drowning and blunt-force trauma, Johnson said.
Allen’s videotaped confession was played to the jury, Johnson said.
Allen and three other men might have attempted to rob Nicholes, but no motive was presented at trial.
Allen’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Michael Bass, said he argued that there was other evidence the police and prosecution could have tested for DNA evidence, such as a bloody stick and a cigarette butt.
Bass also said that the only evidence linking his client to the scene was Allen’s fingerprints on Nicholes’ car. A half-dozen other prints were found on the car as well, Bass said.
The other three Ponchatoula men implicated in the case — Lee Brown, 19; Charles Martin, 21; and George Brown, 17 — all face prosecution on charges of second-degree murder.
Allen and his three co-defendants were all set for trial this week, but Allen’s case was picked, Johnson said. One of the other co-defendants is likely to go to trial next month, Johnson said.
State District Judge Bruce Bennett scheduled sentencing for Aug. 5. Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence without parole.
The jury unanimously returned a verdict of guilty of second-degree murder against Ronnie Allen, 27, of Ponchatoula, after deliberating for about a half hour Wednesday at the parish courthouse in Amite, Johnson said.
Allen beat Clarence Nicholes, 53, of Ponchatoula, on the head and threw him into one of the canals that run underneath the Interstate 55 bridge leading to Manchac, commonly referred to as the Manchac canal, Johnson said. Nicholes’ cause of death was drowning and blunt-force trauma, Johnson said.
Allen’s videotaped confession was played to the jury, Johnson said.
Allen and three other men might have attempted to rob Nicholes, but no motive was presented at trial.
Allen’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Michael Bass, said he argued that there was other evidence the police and prosecution could have tested for DNA evidence, such as a bloody stick and a cigarette butt.
Bass also said that the only evidence linking his client to the scene was Allen’s fingerprints on Nicholes’ car. A half-dozen other prints were found on the car as well, Bass said.
The other three Ponchatoula men implicated in the case — Lee Brown, 19; Charles Martin, 21; and George Brown, 17 — all face prosecution on charges of second-degree murder.
Allen and his three co-defendants were all set for trial this week, but Allen’s case was picked, Johnson said. One of the other co-defendants is likely to go to trial next month, Johnson said.
State District Judge Bruce Bennett scheduled sentencing for Aug. 5. Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence without parole.
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