LAFAYETTE PARISH — Here's an update from The Advocate: John Nicholas has been convicted of attempted first-degree murder in the 2023 shooting that left officers wounded and a child dead. To read the story, click here. The murder charge against him for the child's slaying will be tried at a later date.
The District Attorney's Office sent the following release on this case:
John Mitchell Nicholas was unanimously convicted Thursday, April 9, 2026 by a twelve person Lafayette Parish jury of Attempted First Degree Murder of three Lafayette Police Department officers and Possession of a Firearm by Convicted Felon stemming from a domestic abuse battery incident on August 5, 2023. The jury found that Nicholas was inside a home at 106 S. General Marshall Street in Lafayette with numerous other adults and children, when police were dispatched after a 911 call at 2:14 am of a fight in progress in the home. The 911 operator indicated that the fight sounded very physical and the phone line was left open so 911 could hear all the background yelling.
When officers arrived on scene, the front door was locked and they received no response to their knocking on the door several times. The officer could hear a female saying to get your hands off of me, and believed the female to be in danger. They gained entry through the door, and a female ran out of the house and fled from the scene. Another female tried to assist officers in escorting two minor children from the house, when Nicholas emerged from a hallway with an AR-15 style rifle and began to fire multiple shots at the officers, striking two of the three officers inside the house. Officers returned fire, wounding Nicholas while attempting to get the children and victims out of the house. Witnesses told police that Nicholas said he would shoot everyone if police arrived, and the jury heard a telephone call where Nicholas actually said that he would shoot everyone if police arrived.
Two police officers were taken to a hospital and treated for gunshot wounds. Nicholas refused to exit the house and still had his rifle with him after the shooting, so the SWAT team and K-9’s were deployed, and Nicholas was then arrested. Nicholas was taken to a local hospital after he was arrested and treated for a gunshot wound and a dog bite.
Nicholas was arrested on February 5, 2013 for Illegal Possession of Stolen Firearms and Illegal Discharge of a Firearm, and pled guilty on April 27, 2015 to probation, and his probation was terminated in 2019. He was arrested again on October 14, 2023 for seven counts of Attempted First Degree Murder, and pled guilty on April 27, 2015 in that case to one count of Aggravated Criminal Damage to Property, to serve seven years at hard labor. He was released on December 14, 2018 on good time parole, and that parole ended on October 14, 2020. Nicholas was involved in an incident on September 17, 2022 where Lafayette PD obtained an arrest warrant for him for Violation of a Protective Order and Possession of a Firearm by Convicted Felon, and Nicholas was arrested on March 1, 2023 on those charges, and later bonded out of jail. Nicholas was arrested again on April 4, 2023 for Resisting a Police Officer with Force or Violence and Public Intimidation, for threatening to shoot the police officers once he got out of jail. After bonding out of jail again, Nicholas was charged with felony Domestic Abuse Battery and Violation of Protective Order stemming from a May 21, 2023 incident. Nicholas was arrested on those charges when he was taken into custody on August 5, 2023 for the present case.
Lafayette Police Department officers testified as to the events that led up to Nicholas shooting at the officers, and body camera video from the incident was played for the jury. Witnesses testified that Nicholas actually blocked anyone inside the house from opening the door when police knocked and announced their presence.
“Our law enforcement team from Lafayette PD did a great job on this case from day one, as did our DA’s office prosecutors and staff,” said District Attorney Don Landry. “Officers responded to a 911 call to a fight in progress after midnight, determined that a female was in danger, and took steps to get her to safety. In the process, they found a dangerous convicted felon with outstanding arrest warrants, who grabbed a rifle and shot at them. The officers did their best to get the children and innocent bystanders to safety, and in the process two officers were shot and returned fire. This is a case that could have easily been avoided if Nicholas had just opened the door.”
District Judge Angie Wagar remanded the defendant into the custody of the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Department pending sentencing, where Nicholas faces a mandatory sentence of up to fifty years at hard labor on each of the three counts of attempted first degree murder, and up to
twenty years at hard labor for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
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Here's an update from The Advocate: The death of 19-month-old Kaci Cyprian during a shootout between her uncle, John Nicholas, and Lafayette Police in 2023 will not be part of Nicholas’ trial, which began Tuesday with jury selection.
Assistant District Attorney Alan Haney said Nicholas, 33, is only being tried at this time on three counts of attempted first-degree murder of police officers and one count of a felon in possession of a firearm.
Nicholas was charged with one count of second-degree murder for Cyprian’s death and five counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Cyprian was shot in the head and killed during the shootout in August 2023. Her brother was shot in the hand and her aunt, Mary Prejean, was shot three times in her left arm and left disabled.
Two police officers also were shot, one left partially paralyzed.
“He will be tried at a later date” on the other charges, Haney said.
Haney declined Tuesday to provide his reasons for splitting the case into two.
A pre-trial hearing was held on Monday in Lafayette, where he faces several charges in the incident that included the slaying of 19-month-old Kaci Cyprian.
The child was killed during an August 2023 officer-involved shooting involving Nicholas and the Lafayette Police Department.
According to The Advocate, a judge has ruled that body camera video and a 911 call will be admitted as evidence.
Prosecutors say Nicholas opened fire after officers forced entry during a reported domestic disturbance, sparking a gunfight that left multiple people injured, including an officer who was partially paralyzed.
Cyprian’s parents have filed a federal lawsuit against Lafayette Consolidated Government and officers involved in the shooting, which is on hold pending the outcome of the criminal case. For more details, view the original report from KATC.
