A Palmetto man has been given a life sentence for a 2020 slaying.
Sanplice Simien, 48, was convicted of two counts first-degree murder and three counts attempted first degree murder back in March.
During a sentencing hearing on Thursday, the families of the deceased victims, Michael Thomas, 29 and Ladarious Keller, 20, made statements to the court.
A jury decided that Simien was responsible for their shooting deaths in October 2020. Thomas, Keller and three other young men were sitting in a truck parked on Cook Street in Morrow in October 2020. The jury found that Simien approached the truck with a gun in each hand and fired on the truck.
Simien was sentenced to life without probation, parole or suspension of sentence for both murder convictions, plus 30 years for each count of attempted murder. The sentences will be served concurrently, or at the same time.
The murder convictions carried a mandatory sentence of life in prison, and Simien faced from 10 to 50 years on each of the attempted murder charges.
At the time of the incident, St. Landry Parish Sheriff's deputies told us that they were called to the scene and found Thomas' body in the truck.
Detectives said that Thomas was involved in a heated argument with Simien days before the shooting. Additionally, they say that Simien was robbed in the Morrow area by Thomas at gunpoint days prior while an unknown individual removed $1,200 - $1,400 from Simien’s back pants pocket.
Deputies described the incident at the pick-up truck as an ambush, and said they were able to place Simien near the scene of the shooting during the course of their investigation.
When Simien neared the vehicle, investigators say, he began shooting at the unsuspecting victims and he then fled the area. Thomas died at the scene. A nearby resident took two of the wounded men to a local hospital, where Keller died.
