Texas Woman Found Guilty in Downtown Shreveport Shooting

A Texas woman who shot and critically wounded a man who got into a fight with her former boyfriend was found guilty Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Caddo District Court.

Jessica Leigh Griffith, 37, had originally been charged with aggravated second-degree battery, but the six-woman jury in District Judge Donald E. Hathaway Jr.'s court took just over an hour to return a responsively guilty verdict of aggravated battery.

Through evidence and testimony, the jury determined that on February 12, 2021, Griffith shot James Cole Giles in the parking lot of the Raymond James building in downtown Shreveport.  Prior to the shooting, a fight occurred between Giles and Griffith's then boyfriend. The  ex-boyfriend pointed Griffith's firearm at Giles, causing Giles to knock it away and the fight ensued.  Griffith then retrieved the firearm and fired a single shot that penetrated Giles’s abdomen, lodging in his spine and causing the loss of a kidney and his spleen,  severing his spine resulting in permanent paralysis.

When Griffith returns to court for sentencing June 27, 2024, she faces up to 10 years in prison with or without hard labor and a fine of up to $5,000.

Griffith was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Cheyenne Wilson and Jason Waltman. She was defended by Mark Rogers.

The case was docket No. 381608.