By LEONARD GRAY

LULING – A 21-year-old Des Allemands man charged with the near-fatal beating of a Luling teen-ager a year ago this weekend will instead face trial on the charge of aggravated battery in September.

The suspect, Shawn Trehan, was originally charged the attempted murder of Justin Dufrene, but when he was released after posting $10,000 bond on May 31, the charge was reduced by 29th Judicial District Judge Emile St. Pierre to aggravated battery after closer examination of the legal differences. According to prosecutor Howat Peters who, with Juan Byrd, will prosecute Trehan on Sept. 24, attempted murder involves the intent to kill another person. Peters said he cannot prove that.

The lesser charge of aggravated battery involves the intent to inflict great bodily harm, Peters said. But even that will come under fire from defense attorney Maria Chaisson, who may argue that since no weapon was involved, the lesser charge of second-degree battery is appropriate.

Peters said he plans to argue Trehan’s shoes were utilized as weapons.

The difference in sentencing is significant, Peters added, with attempted murder holding a maximum penalty of 50 years. The maximum sentence for aggravated battery is 10 years, while second-degree battery is five years.

Meanwhile, the root cause of the matter will come under consideration as well during the trial. Peters alleged Trehan called someone’s cellular phone at a party where Dufrene was in attendance. As the telephone was being passed to the owner, Trehan supposedly overheard someone, who he believed to be Dufrene, insult him by calling him a name. Weeks later, at a party on Monsanto Avenue in Luling, Trehan reportedly told Dufrene, as he kicked him repeatedly in the head, to “call me that now.”

Trehan’s attorney, Maria Chaisson, could not be reached for comment on the allegation, despite repeated attempts. Trehan’s parents refused to comment for this story.

A year after the beating, the 19-year-old Dufrene has three things on his mind: starting college this fall, regaining his driver’s license and attending Trehan’s trial, even though the brain damage has rendered him unable to remember events from that night.

According to Capt. Patrick Yoes of the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, Dufrene, of 200 Laurel Court, was followed out to his car by Trehan as he tried to leave a party in the 500 block of Monsanto Avenue just before midnight on Aug 4, 2001.

Witnesses, Yoes added, told police they saw Trehan shouting and trying to provoke a fight with Dufrene, finally punch him and caused him to fall into a ditch.

According to his uncle, Grant Dufrene, Justin threw up his hands and shouted, “I don’t want to fight!” However, another punch from Trehan knocked him down again.

When Dufrene struck the pavement, Yoes continued, the back of his head hit the street. While on the ground, witnesses said Trehan continued to kick Dufrene several times on the face and body before leaving him in the street.

Dufrene was transported to St. Charles Parish Hospital with a skull fracture, brain trauma and internal brain bleeding. There, he was stabilized and transferred to Ochsner Hospital. He was placed in an induced coma to reduce swelling in his skull and bears to this day large scars in his scalp, soon to be covered by hair.

His last surgery was in June, when a titanium mesh was put inside his head, with a bone paste over that, which hardened into bone.

“I’ve found my short-term memory is not as good,” Dufrene said. “I’m not as quick as I used to be.”

However, he is recovering quickly and put on weight in the months since. Prior to the incident, Dufrene was a wiry 180 pounds stretched over a 6-feet-1-inch frame. At his low point in the hospital, he was down to 127 pounds. Now, he has bulked up to 230 pounds, with broad shoulders.

He and his family have remained active. They went on a Florida vacation in June, where he enjoyed jet-skiing and met a young lady from Plaquemines Parish. The popular Dufrene set a record for the number of visitors at Ochsner Hospital, where Dr. Nand Voorheis performed the life-saving surgery. He recovered at Touro Rehabilitation Center.

His aunt, Liz Dufrene, commented, “I see improvement every day,” and recounted an incident this week which demonstrated Justin’s appreciation for his family.

On her first day at work at Luling Elementary School, he left a note in the kitchen asking her to wake him up before leaving for work. She did so, and his comment was “I just wanted to tell you I love you.”

Dufrene, an honor student and 2001 graduate of Hahnville High School, was enrolled at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette on a TOPS Scholarship at the time of the incident. His intends to attend Nicholls State University this fall, then transfer to ULL next spring, in pursuit of a degree in business management.

Someday, he hopes to open either a health club or a Cajun restaurant, possibly in Colorado.

“When you look at him,” Liz Dufrene said of her nephew, “you’re looking at a walking miracle.”