Maximum sentence handed down in beating of newspaper delivery man

VERNON PARISH, La. (KPLC) - A man found guilty of beating a newspaper delivery man received the maximum sentence for second-degree battery on Wednesday.

Douglas Paul James, 33, was sentenced to eight years in prison, with one year suspended. The judge also ordered him to serve three years of probation and pay a $2,000 fine once his prison term is up.

James was found guilty of second-degree battery in the December 2021 attack on Woodie Blanks.

Blanks was delivering newspapers for the American Press when he was attacked around 3 a.m. on Catfish Hut Road. The American Press reported that Blanks was left partially blind.

Blanks got out of the vehicle to hand-deliver the paper to a resident who had mobility issues when he was attacked.

James’ co-defendant, his brother Dillon James, has a trial date of Oct. 17.