HOUMA -- A 75-year-old Houma man arrested for allegedly shooting his daughter in the chest three months ago will not face an attempted-murder charge, though he will stand trial on a lesser charge stemming from the same incident after an indictment handed down last week by a Terrebonne grand jury.

WWL-TV

Clarence Leonard Matthews, originally charged with attempted second-degree murder for allegedly shooting his 15-year-old daughter once in the chest Nov. 13, will instead stand trial on a single charge of aggravated assault, a misdemeanor.

His trial date has yet to be scheduled, authorities said.

In a grand jury session convened last week, a majority of jurors voted “no true bill” on the attempted second-degree murder charge leveled against Matthews by prosecutors, according to First Assistant District Attorney Carlos Lazarus.

The ruling means the jurors decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Matthews on the attempted-murder charge, which carries a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 50 years in prison.

Instead, the jurors returned a “true bill” of aggravated assault with a firearm, which carries a maximum prison term of five years.

Lazarus declined to discuss what evidence might have swayed the grand jurors, noting that such proceedings are strictly confidential.