NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Jefferson Parish jury has found a 28-year-old Marrero man guilty of killing another man inside a shopping mall on Christmas Eve 2014.

Jurors deliberated less than 2½ hours Thursday before rejecting Gary Francois' insanity defense, finding he knew the difference between right and wrong when he shot James Vaughn.

His attorneys did not deny that Francois killed Vaughn. They argued that he could not be held criminally responsible because of schizophrenia and a paranoid episode triggered by a belief that Vaughn was at the center of a conspiracy against him.

Francois faces a mandatory life sentence for his conviction of second-degree murder.

Judge Lee Faulkner set sentencing for May 18.

 

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