Man convicted of robbing Chackbay couple at knifepoint. He faces 10 to 99 years in prison.

A jury convicted a Slidell man was convicted this week of robbing a Chackbay couple at knifepoint in their home. 

Following about an hour of deliberation Tuesday, the 12-member jury found Michael Lee Sr., 40, guilty of armed robbery.

Lee faces 10 to 99 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced July 20 by state District Judge Marla Abel of Thibodaux.  

The incident occurred at a mobile home on Woodland Drive in Chackbay on Oct. 15, 2019.  

Armed with a knife, Lee forced his way into the home and demanded money from a couple inside, prosecutors said. 

Assistant District Attorney Heather Hendrix said the couple heard a knock at their door while watching TV.  

“This is when their lives change,” Hendrix told the jury Tuesday. “This is when the defendant enters their lives. This is where the defendant committed armed robbery in the sanctity of their home.” 

The couple gave the suspect several hundred dollars and he took additional money he saw on a counter, authorities said. He then left the home. 

The victims later identified Lee, who they didn’t know, in a photo lineup, Hendrix said.  

Lee admitted to investigators that he had committed the robbery and was taken into custody. He was booked into the Lafourche Parish jail, where he is being held on $50,000 bail. 

Related:Slidell man accused of robbing couple at knifepoint

Lee later wrote a letter to the couple apologizing for what he had done, Hendrix said. 

“At the end of this you will have no doubt that it was this defendant who committed this crime,” she said.  

Thibodaux attorney Maria Dugas, who represents Lee, told the jury during her opening statement that authorities never found the knife, and no fingerprints or DNA was recovered that linked her client to the crime. 

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“Every detail matters because this is Mr. Lee on trial,” she said. “It could be any one of us.” 

Hendrix said Lee struck the victims when they were most vulnerable. 

“Everyone has the right to feel safe in their own home,” she said. “This act of violence committed by the defendant violated that sacred right. I pray this conviction gives the victims some peace of mind.”

— Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 448-7639 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanVCopp.