Foret on trial

After nearly three days of jury selection, opening arguments were delivered Thursday afternoon in the case against John Isaac Foret on the charge of second degree murder.
Foret is accused of murdering Edwin Snoddy on May 18, 2018 at the residence of the victim on Snoddy Lane. Foret was indicted by an Evangeline Parish Grand Jury the same month as the alleged crime and entered a plea of not guilty in June 2018.
Counsel for the state, Assistant District Attorney Marcus Fontenot, painted a picture in his opening arguments that showed there had been an argument between Foret and the decedent prior to the shooting that left Snoddy dead. At the time of the argument, according to Fontenot, Snoddy told Foret to stay off of his property. Fontenot further argued Foret returned to Snoddy’s residence and shot the victim five times before running away to call 911 and returning to the scene of the alleged crime.
Painting a contrastingly different picture was defense attorney Mike Small. Small went through the series of events which allegedly occurred on the day of the incident.
According to Small’s accounts, Foret and his girlfriend Crystal O’Neal spent the night before at a camp on Johnson Landing Road. O’Neal did odd jobs for Snoddy around his residence, and Foret dropped her off at the residence around noon that day.
Beginning later that day were a series of phone calls from Foret to O’Neal on Snoddy’s phone. According to Small, the last text was received at 10:45 p.m. as Foret was waiting outside the residence to pick up O’Neal. The message read, “If I don’t hear from you soon, I’m going to call the police.”
At that time, Small argued, is when Snoddy exited the residence and went toward Foret’s truck while brandishing a 12-gauge shotgun. Foret then reached into his truck for a gun and shot Snoddy in self defense.
The trial is projected to last into this week. Coverage will continue after the verdict is returned.