Taivon Gales, 23, of Reserve has been arrested and booked with aggravated battery with a dangerous weapon (felony) and aggravated criminal damage to property (felony) in connection with a shooting Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026 that injured one man and damaged a vehicle in the parking lot of McDonald’s in LaPlace.
Gales was arrested shortly after St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office officers responded to the report of a shooting just after 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
The shooting victim, a 23-year-old man, flagged down a SJSO deputy who was patrolling near West Airline Highway, to seek help. The deputy put the injured man in his marked police car and took him to Ochsner Medical Center in LaPlace.
The man was suffering from a gunshot wound to his face and finger. He later was transported via ambulance to a hospital in New Orleans where he was listed in stable condition.
Over the course of the investigation, SJSO detectives learned that Gales and the victim arrived at McDonald’s together. The victim got into a physical fight outside the restaurant with another man. During that fight, Gales fired a gun; striking the victim in the cheek and finger.
Gales left the scene, but was located and detained in a nearby parking lot.
Gales is being held in the parish jail in LaPlace under as $62,500 bond.