SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A Caddo Parish jury returned a guilty verdict for a man charged with first-degree attempted murder on a member of the Shreveport Police Department and aggravated flight.

According to the Caddo District Attorney, 25-year-old Lavonta Smith ran a red light at the intersection of Midway and Mansfield Road on October 29, 2021. When police initiated a stop Smith led them on a chase through Ingleside and Cedar Grove.

Lavonta Lashaun Smith (Source: Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office)

Smith reportedly fired three shots at officers from a semi-automatic firearm and the bullets struck the driver’s side window of Officer Joshua Sass’ vehicle.

The chase ended when Smith’s vehicle ran off the roadway in the 100 block of 77th Street, at that time Smith fled on foot. Police captured him in the backyard of a neighborhood residence.

He will return to court on November 6, 2023 for sentencing. Smith is facing up to five years for the aggravated flight conviction. For the attempted first-degree murder of a police officer, he faces a minimum of ten years and up to 50 years without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.