Jury finds Lacombe man guilty of manslaughter

A jury found Nicky Landor, 35, of Lacombe guilty of manslaughter Thursday for a shooting that occurred in October 2006.

St. Tammany District Attorney Walter Reed spokesman Rick Wood said the jury deliberated for three hours before returning the verdict at the end of a four-day trial in 22nd Judicial District Judge Martin Coady’s court.

According to records, Landor and Albert Marshall got into a fight over $20 in front of Landor’s Lacombe house on Oct. 6, 2006. During the fight, Landor threatened Marshall with a jack handle, and Marshall took out a 9mm handgun, fired a warning shot and then physically hit Landor with the pistol. The two men began to physically fight, and Landor manged to take the gun away from Marshall. Landor shot Marshall in the leg, the gun jammed, but Landor cocked the pistol and shot Marshall, who was lying on the ground. That shot killed Marshall.

St. Tammany Sheriff’s deputies found Marshall’s body, but Landor had fled the scene. Later that night Landor, accompanied by his mother, turned himself in to the sheriff’s deputies. He told investigators he was involved in the fight but would not confess to the shooting, even though he turned over the handgun to authorities.

A St. Tammany grand jury returned with an indictment of second-degree murder against Landor in January 2007.

Landor will be sentence by Coady on June 18. He faces 40 years in jail for manslaughter. However, Wood said Landor could face life in prison if he is found to be a career criminal. Wood said Landor has prior convictions for distribution of cocaine in 1998, issuing worthless checks in 1994 and second-degree battery in 1993.