A Baton Rouge grand jury on Wednesday declined to charge Thomas Franklin in the shooting death of 34-year-old Jacob Altazan, a fatal hunting incident during Christmas weekend 2023 that left one man dead and another facing intense scrutiny. Franklin, identified in recent reporting as 56, was arrested after police said he mistakenly shot Altazan while the men were deer hunting. With no indictment, the case now sits in limbo and Altazan's friends and family are still without a clear account of what unfolded in the woods that day.
Grand Jury Declines To Charge
The grand jury "pretermitted" the charges on Wednesday, according to WBRZ. The outlet reports that after reviewing the case, the panel chose not to return an indictment against Franklin.
Official Report: The Shooting
A City of Baton Rouge press release from Dec. 24, 2023, states that the shooting happened around 4:20 p.m. in the 11,000 block of Scenic Highway and that Altazan died at the scene. The release notes that Franklin was arrested and booked on a negligent homicide count. That press release serves as the police department's initial official account of both the shooting and Franklin's arrest.
Timeline And Initial Reporting
Local outlets quickly covered the arrest in December. WAFB reported that police were called to the area late that afternoon and that officers booked Franklin into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. Early coverage described the incident as a hunting accident and listed negligent homicide as the initial charge at booking.
Friends Raise Safety Questions
Later investigative coverage filled in more of the afternoon's events. WBRZ reported that a security camera captured Altazan, Franklin and another man packing up their car at about 3 p.m., and that Franklin told officers he mistook Altazan for a deer. A friend, David Doucet, told reporters that Altazan "had orange on whenever he got out of the vehicle" and questioned why anyone would fire a shot without first visually locating the other hunter.
Legal Next Steps
With the grand jury pretermitting the charges, prosecutors did not receive an indictment from this presentation and the case currently stands without criminal charges. It is not yet clear whether investigators will gather additional evidence or whether prosecutors will attempt to re-present the matter to another grand jury panel.
