Gunman convicted of attempted murder in Avondale home invasion shooting

A Metairie man was convicted as charged on Thursday (June 23) of attempted second-degree murder and two other offenses, for shooting an Avondale woman more than 10 times during a home invasion two years ago.

Danny “Noonie” Saulny, 25, a former Avondale resident, faces up to 50 years in prison for attempted second-degree murder, 10 years to 20 years for convicted felon in possession of a firearm and five years to 30 years for home invasion in connection with the Jan. 13, 2014 crimes. Judge Conn Regan of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Saulny on July 18.

The victim, who was 23 years old at the time, testified on Wednesday that she was in her kitchen cooking a meal at the home in the 100 block of Madeira Drive, when Saulny and a second gunman entered, saying “give me everything you got.”

She recognized only Saulny, whom she knew by his nickname Noonie from elementary school. Crying throughout her testimony, she told the jury she is “a million-percent certain” that Saulny was one of the gunmen.

“Noonie had me by my hair and drug me toward the kitchen while the other guy was kicking me,” she testified. They then dragged her to a bedroom. She stood against her godchild’s crib when she retrieved a wallet from a dresser to give to the assailants.

She said Saulny held a gun to the back of her head, and she turned her head as he fired. The bullet struck her in the cheek, she testified. She then struggled with the men as they shot her.

“They just kept firing at me, and I was trying to fight,” she testified. After falling to the ground, she said she then heard Saulny say, “’I think she’s dead. Let’s go.’”

She said she remained on the floor bleeding until the assailants left, and then ran to a neighbor’s home four doors down. She collapsed into a neighbor’s arms, struggling to speak because the bullet that struck her cheek caused severe damage to her tongue.

The neighbor testified that the victim also identified “Noonie” as one of the gunmen before calling 911.

She said she was shot more than 10 times, causing 15 bullet holes. She has still has bullet projectiles and fragments in her body and still faces more surgeries she testified.

She identified Saulny as one of the gunmen in a photographic line-up presented by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, according to testimony.

She later asserted she saw the second gunman in the Jefferson Parish Courthouse, during a court hearing. She said she recognized the man by a tattoo on one of his hands. The Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect, but prosecutors did not have sufficient evidence on which to base a criminal charge, according to testimony.

Saulny denied being involved, and his attorneys said the victim identified the wrong person.

He was barred from having guns because of a 2011 conviction of possessing a firearm during a crime of violence, which was an aggravated second-degree battery in 2010. He received a six year prison sentence. He also has convictions of resisting arrest and theft in 2010.

Assistant District Attorneys Blair Constant and Lynn Schiffman prosecuted the case.

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