ST. MARTINVILLE - An attorney for the sheriff's deputy who shot and killed a mentally ill man at his Louisiana home last year is praising authorities for reaching the "correct result" and ruling out any criminal charges against his client.

Attorney Pay Magee says Sgt. Pittard Chapman of the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office "had no alternative but to use deadly force" against 32-year-old Michael Noel.

Assistant District Attorney Chester Cedars announced Friday that his office determined charges aren't warranted against Chapman or another deputy who tried to take Noel into protective custody and drive him to a hospital on Dec. 21.

In a memo, Cedars said Chapman was trapped against a door and acted in self-defense when he fired a single shot at Noel.

Magee says Chapman has remained on administrative leave since the shooting at the St. Martinville home that Noel shared with his mother, Barbara Noel.