Algiers man sentenced to life in Bucktown murder and armed robbery attempt

An Algiers man who was convicted last month of an armed robbery-related homicide in the Bucktown area was sentenced Thursday (Nov. 2) to a mandatory life sentence in prison.

Bobby James, 25, committed the second-degree murder and attempted armed robbery of Dwayne Baptiste, 27, a Jefferson Parish jury decided Oct. 12. James shot Baptiste in the back, as the victim fled from an apartment at West Esplanade Avenue and Lake Avenue on May 3, 2016.

Batiste’s mother provided impact testimony, describing her pain while expressing forgiveness for the man who killed her firstborn son. After hearing James deny he committed the crimes, Judge Stephen Enright of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced him to the mandatory life sentence for the murder and 49 1/2 years for the attempted armed robbery. Judge Enright ran the sentences concurrently.

James also faces a second-degree murder charge in New Orleans Criminal District Court. He is accused of being one of the gunmen who attempted an armed robbery of people in a Brunswick Court home in Algiers on Dec. 10, 2012. Cory Bush, 35, was killed in that crime.

Assistant District Attorneys Doug Freese and Brittany Beckner prosecuted James.

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