Trial held for Eunice man accused of stealing a crawfish boat

A Eunice man was on trial this week in front of 13th Judicial District Judge Gary J. Ortego for Theft $5,000 or More but Less Than $25,000.
While the six-man jury was still trying to reach a verdict, the defendant Paul Chris Vidrine eventually entered a plea of guilty to Illegal Possession of Stolen Goods.
Vidrine was accused of stealing a crawfish boat from Troy West in Chataignier.
There was; however, no physical evidence linking Vidrine to the theft, and Vidrine had testified earlier in the day on Wednesday that he had bought the boat from Patrick Deville.
The jury of four women and two men heard testimony from a bevy of witnesses during the two-day trial.
The jury then began deliberating around 3:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon and was unable to reach a verdict by 6:30 p.m.
“Very simply the jury was hung up,” said Evangeline Parish District Attorney Trent Brignac. “They had indicated through the judge that they were having a difficult time reaching a unanimous verdict. It was getting late in the evening.”
Brignac added, “Out of concern that a mistrial might have been declared because of the uncertainty that existed, the defense attorney and the prosecuting attorneys agreed to meet in the middle and allowed him to enter into a plea agreement where he pled guilty to Possession of Stolen Things.”
Judge Ortego accepted the guilty plea and ordered a Pre-Sentence Investigation.
A sentencing date will then be set upon receipt of the report from the Probation and Parole office.
The district attorney used the case as a message to the community. “There has been a rash of thefts involving moveables particularly ATVs, boats, and trailers,” he said. “We’re going to deal with these very seriously. That’s one of the reasons why Vidrine was on trial for that charge.”
Brignac went on to thank his assistant district attorneys Marcus Fontenot and Kelly Tate and was “pleased with the job” that they had done.
“It was a hard fought battle,” said defense attorney Jacob Fusilier. “In the end, my client was very satisfied with the results.”