BATON ROUGE - A man who was accused in a 2023 hunting death after he allegedly shot and killed a hunter he mistook for a deer had his case officially dismissed Monday. 

Thomas Franklin, 56, was arrested after 34-year-old Jacob Altazan was shot and killed during a Christmas weekend hunting trip. Franklin told police he mistook Altazan for a deer.

Franklin's charge was dismissed in July when a grand jury declined to charge him. Franklin's court hearing on Monday was a formality, where a judge upheld the grand jury's decision and dismissed the case against him.