James charged with second-degree murder

Submitted by admin on Thu, 04/10/2008 - 18:42

By: CARISSA HEBERT

Managing Editor

Charges of attempted second-degree murder have been filed against a Ville Platte man after a 42-year-old man was shot in the chest Sunday afternoon, April 6.

Ville Platte Police Detective/Lt. John B. “Chip” Matte Jr. said the department received a call at approximately 1:50 p.m. Sunday from Kevin Durgin, 42, who claimed he had been shot. When officers arrived in the 400 block of Martin Luther King, they discovered Durgin had a bullet hole in his chest. Acadian Ambulance was contacted and Durgin was taken to Ville Platte Medical Center, where he was treated and later released.

Matte said Durgin was very lucky because the bullet traveled across the chest and never entered the chest cavity where it could have struck his organs.

Durgin told authorities he was visiting his friend, Samuel “Fox” James at 708 W. Cotton when the two began arguing over $20 and a bicycle.

He said, “Samuel pulled a gun and he went to push it out of the way. The gun went off and struck him in the chest,” Matte said.

James, 57, 708 W. Cotton, Ville Platte, was arrested and charged with attempted second-degree murder. He was booked into the parish jail on a $125,000 bond.