AMITE CITY - A grand jury decided not to bring charges against a homeowner and a Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's deputy who were involved in a November 2020 double-shooting that left a suspected burglar dead, The Advocate reports.

The Amite-based grand jury returned a "no true" bill Friday, confirming that they found no evidence to support grounds for indictment. 

This decision will likely mean that neither the homeowner nor the sheriff's deputy will face criminal charges in the death of 27-year-old Jordan Patterson. 

According to The Advocate, District Attorney Scott Perrilloux said Monday that evidence compiled by State Police and presented to the grand jury showed the homeowner, who was armed with a rifle, found Patterson in the act of burgling his shed. The two engaged in a physical fight before the homeowner eventually cleared enough space between the two of them to fire the rifle at Patterson, killing him, Perrilloux said. 

When the Tangipahoa deputy arrived on the scene and saw the homeowner shoot Patterson, the deputy didn't know which man was the homeowner. So, the deputy fired at the homeowner, Perrilloux said.

He then explained that the grand jury could have brought charges against either the homeowner or the deputy if they had found the necessary evidence sufficient. 

“We did not present any particular individuals as a specific target” for criminal charges, he said. “It could have been the deputy, or the homeowner. The grand jury’s conclusion was that the evidence did not support criminal charges against either of those two individuals.”