Year: 2016

Teenager pleads guilty to battery, escape at Bridge City juvenile center

An 18-year-old inmate at the Bridge City Center for Youth pleaded guilty Monday (Feb. 22), to attacking a correctional officer and escaping his dormitory.

Wilnor Chaney Jr., was sentenced to one year in prison followed by five years of probation, in connection with the Aug. 5, 2015, crime at the River Road facility where adjudicated juveniles are confined.

He pleaded guilty as charged to adult charges of battery on a corrections officer and simple escape. He was scheduled to stand trial this week for the offenses.

Chaney admitted he grabbed the correctional officer in a bear hug and threw him to the ground before taking the officer’s security keys, according to the arrest report. Chaney then was able to unlock the rear door to the Perseverance Dorm, where he was confined, and escape onto the grounds at the facility.

A corrections officer monitoring a security camera saw Chaney near the facility’s back gate, triggering a search for the escapee, according to the report. He was captured shortly after near the Main School Building, having never left the center’s grounds.

Judge Ellen Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court, who presided over the case, sentenced Chaney to one year in prison for the battery charge. She suspended a three-year prison sentence for the simple escape charge and ordered three years of active probation, followed by two years of inactive probation. She ran the sentences consecutively.

Assistant District Attorney Douglas Rushton prosecuted the case.

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Discarded cigarette butts and DNA lead to armed robbery conviction

It was the cigarette butts the detectives found at two seemingly unrelated crime scenes that gave the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office its break five years ago. Two masked gunmen went on a robbery spree, targeting businesses on both sides of the Mississippi River.

Sheriff’s Office DNA analysts found the genetic material of their first suspect on both of the Newport butts, Jonathan Isaac, prosecutors said. The detectives, Lt. Dax Russo and Wayne Rumore, searched Isaac’s cellular phone history, finding as many as 19 calls in one day around the time of the robberies with their second suspect, Damion Savage of Harvey.

Savage denied involvement until the detectives found in his Tensas Street apartment two caps, a jacket and shoes that were identical to those worn by one of the armed robbers. The detectives showed Savage images they obtained from the businesses’ security cameras during the robberies, they said.

“He then confesses,” Assistant District Attorney Angel Varnado, who prosecuted the case with Blair Constant, told a Jefferson Parish jury this week. “He identified himself, ‘Yes, detective, that was me.’ … He confessed to each one of the robberies.”

The jury of seven men and five women on Friday (Feb. 19) convicted Savage as charged of six counts of armed robbery – one count for each of the six employees who were victimized during four separate armed robberies. The jury announced its verdict just before 9 p.m.

Savage, 42, faces up to 104 years in prison on each count. Judge Michael Mentz of the 24th Judicial District Court set the sentencing for Thursday (Feb. 25).

The maximum sentence Louisiana law allows for armed robbery is 99 years in prison. Prosecutors are seeking to add another five years of imprisonment for each count under the state’s firearm enhancement law, because guns were used in the crimes.

Savage was convicted of robbing a Marrero Subway store on Barataria Boulevard twice, on Jan. 23, 2011 and on March 6, 2011. He robbed a Subway on Jefferson Highway in Old Jefferson on March 13, 2011, and a GameStop outlet on Promenade Boulevard in Marrero on March 24, 2011.

Detectives suspect the duo committed eight armed robberies, according to an arrest report.

In the Jan. 23, 2011 robbery, two masked gunmen entered the Subway as the cashier was in the back of the store preparing to close the business, according to the report. Unable to comply with the demand to open the safe, the woman gave cash from the register before she was force to the floor, detectives said. The suspects fled with about $1,150 in that crime.

Detectives initially were stumped by the four robberies, all committed by two masked gunmen who had similar physical characteristics, concealed their identities and produced firearms in demanding money, prosecutors said. None of the six victims could identify their assailants, the prosecutors said.

After Isaac’s DNA was found on the cigarette butts recovered at two crime scenes, detectives searched his cellular phone call history and noted extensive communication with Savage around the time of the robberies, prosecutors said.

The detectives also used cellular transmission towers to further link Savage and Isaac to the robberies, Varnado told jurors. Through data obtained from the towers, detectives determined that the men were together when the robberies happened, and in the vicinity of the crimes, she said.

Also, Varnado said, one of Isaac’s finger prints was lifted from a video monitor at the GameStop, in an area where customers weren’t allowed.

Savage stood trial this week maintaining his innocence, asserting his confession was coerced and unreliable. He testified he was under the influence of heroin when the detectives questioned him. He the deputies of threatening to tell his wife’s employer that she had been charged a narcotics possession case unless he confessed. Savage also accused Russo of physical abuse, a charge the detective denied in rebuttal testimony.

“I didn’t commit any robbery,” Savage testified Friday. “They got the wrong person, that’s what they have.”

Savage had a misdemeanor theft conviction in 2001, for which he served one year of probation. While jailed in connection with the armed robberies, Savage was charged with battery on a correctional officer, in which he allegedly punched a jailer who was trying to remove illegal contraband from his cell in February 2013, according to the arrest report.

He also has pending charges of possession of heroin, possession of hydrocodone and possession of drug paraphernalia that date to 2010, before he was arrested in the armed robbery cases.

Isaac, 54, of Marrero, is scheduled to stand trial in late June on five counts of armed robbery, court records show. He is charged with committing robberies with Savage except for the Subway crime on Jan. 23, 2011.

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One year, 21 convictions in Harvey Hustlers gang prosecution in Jefferson Parish

Less than a year after a Jefferson Parish grand jury handed up an indictment charging 21 people in connection with the murderous Harvey Hustlers street gang, the last two defendants accused of racketeering and narcotics-related offenses pleaded guilty as charged Tuesday (Feb. 16).

Kerry J. Reynard and Charles D. Gumms face 20 years in prison in connection their roles in the Harvey Hustlers, a gang that trafficked cocaine and heroin from Texas into West Jefferson for resale on area streets.

The gang traces its roots to Harvey’s Scotsdale neighborhood in the 1980s. Its members and affiliated soldiers protected their drug-dealing activities through the gang’s enforcer arm known as the “Murder Squad,” which is linked to numerous homicides.

Federal and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors joined forces in arresting and convicting 82 people related to the gang since 2009. Of them, 29 were prosecuted in Jefferson Parish’s 24th Judicial District Court, while the remainder were handled in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. The investigation into the Harvey Hustlers is ongoing.

Reynard, 26, of Marrero, pleaded guilty Tuesday to racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to distribute heroin and marijuana. Judge Henry Sullivan, in accepting the guilty plea, sentenced Reynard to 20 years in prison.

Charles D. Gumms, 22, of Terrytown, pleaded guilty to racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to distribute heroin and marijuana, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute Tramadol.

His plea agreement calls for a 20-year prison sentence, a punishment that was postponed to March 14.

At the time of his arrest in the Harvey Hustler’s case last year, Gumms was serving three years of probation in connection with his Jan. 17, 2013 plea in New Orleans’ Criminal District Court to possession of a firearm with obliterated serial number, theft of a motor vehicle and resisting an officer, records show.

His probation will be revoked because of his Jefferson Parish charges, and his attorney Steven Lemoine said Tuesday he wants to ensure that his New Orleans sentence is run concurrently with his Jefferson Parish punishment. Judge Sullivan agreed to hold off on the sentencing until after the New Orleans case is resolved.

Two months before Gumms was indicted in the Harvey Hustler case, he was shot several times in December 2014, while in his car in the 2100 block of Esplanade Place in Terrytown. His passenger, Shamyra Plummer, 18, also was shot and died from her injuries, authorities said.

Gumms drove to a convenience store at Terry Parkway and Carol Sue Avenue, ran inside and collapsed. Deputies found Plummer’s body in the back seat.

Gumms and Reynard were among the 21 defendants named in a 30-count indictment prosecutors filed in state court in Gretna on Feb. 26, 2015.

“In all my years in law enforcement, I can safely say the Harvey Hustlers gang was by far one of the most violent, vile criminal organizations that this organization has dealt with,” Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said during a press conference last year after the indictment was filed.

In the indictment, prosecutors asserted that in addition to narcotics trafficking, gang members were responsible for numerous homicides and saw internal strife in which members even targeted each other. It’s unclear whether Gumms’ 2014 shooting was tied to his involvement in the Harvey Hustlers.

The other 19 people charged in the case were:

  • Charlie Gumms, 20, of Terrytown, pleaded guilty Feb. 12 to racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to distribute heroin and five counts of attempted second-degree murder. He was sentenced to 25 years on each count, and Sullivan ran the sentences concurrently for a total of 25 years. He is Charles Gumms’ younger brother.
  • Richard Chess, 24, of Harvey, pleaded guilty Feb. 12 to racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to distribute heroin, distribution of heroin and cruelty to juveniles. He received a 20-year prison sentence.
  • Carnell Pierce, 35, of Harvey, pleaded guilty Feb. 12 to racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to distribute heroin, distribute of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
  • Bryant Gumms, 24, of Harvey, pleaded guilty Thursday (Jan. 28), to racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to distribute heroin. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
  • Derrick Gumms, 27, of Harvey, pleaded guilty Thursday (Jan. 28), to racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to distribute heroin. He, too, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Bryant and Derrick are siblings.
  • Robert C. Williams, 24, of Avondale, was convicted by a Jefferson Parish jury as charged on Nov. 11 of racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, two counts of convicted felon in possession of a firearm, illegal possession of a stolen firearm and distribution of cocaine. He was sentenced to 120 years in prison.
  • Alcus Smith, 29, of Harvey, stood trial with Williams and was convicted of racketeering, conspiracy to distribute narcotics and distribution of cocaine. He was sentenced to 65 years in prison on Nov. 17. The jury that handed up the verdict was unable to decide Smith’s charge of second-degree murder, leading to a mistrial on that count only. Smith faces retrial on the murder charge.
  • Willie Thornton, 31, of Harvey, pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute narcotics and two counts of distribution of cocaine. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Jan. 13.
  • Lashawn Davis, 22, of Gretna, pleaded guilty as charged on Nov. 30 to racketeering, five counts of attempted second-degree murder and two counts of conspiracy to distribute narcotics. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
  • Davante D. Robertson, 21, of Gretna, pleaded guilty on Dec. 15 to racketeering and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Prosecutors dismissed five counts of attempted second-degree murder.
  • Ellis C. Landix, 30, of Marrero, pleaded guilty on Jan. 13 to conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison as a multiple offender.
  • Paul Smith, 26, of Avondale, pleaded guilty Sept. 28, to racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute oxycodone. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.
  • Brandon J. Motton, 29, of New Orleans, pleaded guilty on Jan. 199, to racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, marijuana and heroin, and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
  • Keitrel B. Gumms, 25, of Harvey, pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to racketeering, two counts conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana, respectively, distribution of cocaine, distribution of marijuana and cruelty to juveniles. His sentencing is set for Feb. 29.
  • Stephanie J. Bradley, 44, of Harvey, pleaded guilty to racketeering on Oct. 19. She has been sentenced to five years in prison.
  • Corey H. Trent, 26, of Marrero, pleaded guilty on Aug 17, to racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, marijuana and cocaine, distribution of cocaine and cruelty to juveniles. He was sentenced to eight years on prison.
  • Kentaz R. Gayden, 28, of Harahan, pleaded guilty on Dec. 11 to racketeering and two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, marijuana and heroin. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
  • Rasheed Smith, 25, of Westwego, pleaded guilty on Jan. 4 to racketeering and two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, marijuana and heroin. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
  • Nathan Carter, 31, of Gretna, pleaded guilty on Oct. 8 to racketeering and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Jefferson Parish Assistant District Attorneys Doug Freese and Seth Shute prosecuted them. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the cases.

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Marrero men who shot out car windows with pellet pistols to pay $31,700 in restitution

Two Marrero men who admitted they used pellet pistols to shoot out windows of more than 200 vehicles in West Jefferson neighborhoods will repay their victims more than $31,700, according to their plea agreements with the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office.

Christopher Flanagan and Dacotah Hamilton, both 22, pleaded guilty on Feb. 4 to eight felony counts of simple criminal damage to property and 209 misdemeanor counts of simple criminal damage to property.

Judge Stephen Enright of the 24th Judicial District Court, who accepted the plea agreements, ordered Flanagan and Hamilton to serve five years of active probation for the felonies and two years of inactive probation for the misdemeanors.

Enright also ordered them to pay restitution totaling $31,716.94, in addition to court costs and fines, court records show. Of that amount, $5,032.66 involves the felony counts and the balance involves the misdemeanors. Enright also ordered that they make monthly restitution payments.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, which was investigating scores of vandalism complaints filed by vehicle owners in the days leading up to Christmas Eve 2013, used license plate recognition cameras to link Flanagan’s 2001 Ford Escape to the vandalism spree.

That led to the two arrests, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Flanagan and Hamilton provided videotaped confessions, admitting that on three separate days they drove into West Jefferson neighborhoods in Flanagan’s car and used pellet pistols to shoot out windows of parked vehicles.

Deputies found pellets and empty CO2 cartridges in Flanagan’s car, according to the arrest report.

Flanagan and Hamilton also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor marijuana possession charges, for which they received two years of inactive probation. They were arrested separately in those cases in July 2013, records show. Their punishments will run concurrently with the criminal damage sentences.

Assistant District Attorney Angad Ghai prosecuted the cases.

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Harvey man sentenced to 15 years in prison for cruelty to his 3-month-old son

A 24-year-old Harvey man who pleaded guilty to violently shaking his 3-month-old son and causing a severe brain injury was sentenced on Friday (Feb. 5), to 15 years in prison.

Jeffery Lebouef Jr., of the 300 block of Manhattan Boulevard, pleaded guilty as charged on Monday to second-degree cruelty to a juvenile in connection with what authorities say was abusive head trauma, which previously had commonly been called shaken baby syndrome.

Judge Scott Schlegel of the 24th Judicial District Court, who accepted the plea and handed down the sentence, also barred Lebouef from contacting his son’s mother.

Lebouef was arrested on Nov. 4, 2015, after he and his girlfriend rushed their child to Children’s Hospital because he had seizures and was unresponsive, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office arrest report.

Lebouef was at home alone with the child when the seizures began but denied knowing what caused the injuries, according to the report. The mother returned home and called a doctor after discovering her baby’s conviction, detectives wrote.

A Children’s Hospital doctor notified police after finding that the child, who was in critical condition, had an older brain injury in addition to the newer one, according to the report. The mother told detectives that Lebouef had “some animosity” for the child, because he questioned whether he was the father, according to the report.

When confronted by detectives, Lebouef confessed to causing the injuries and lying about them to his girlfriend and doctors, saying “he knew he was in trouble and the baby was hurt,” according to the report.

He told detectives that his son would not stop crying and that he shook the infant violently while yelling, “Why don’t you give me a break,” according to the report.

He said he dropped the baby off a bed and then threw the baby about two feet onto a bassinet, causing the infant’s head to bounce, detectives wrote.

In impact testimony on Friday, the baby’s mother said her son suffers from lingering effects of the shaking and possibly faces surgery as a result of the incident.

Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Truhe prosecuted the case.

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Harvey Hustlers racketeering case nets three more guilty pleas

Another three men with ties to the West Jefferson-based Harvey Hustlers street gang pleaded guilty Monday (Feb. 1) in a narcotics racketeering case and were sentenced to lengthy prison terms.

Richard Chess, Carlnell Pierce and Charlie Gumms were among the 21 defendants named in a 30-count indictment filed last year in Jefferson Parish’s 24th Judicial District Court. With Monday’s pleas, only two of the 21 defendants still have open racketeering cases.

Chess, 24, of Harvey, pleaded guilty to racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to distribute heroin, distribution of heroin and cruelty to juveniles. Judge Henry Sullivan, who has presided over the Harvey Hustler cases, ran Chess’s sentences for each count concurrently, for a total of 20 years.

Chess also pleaded guilty as a double offender under Louisiana’s habitual offender law, for a 2009 conviction of simple escape. His 15-year sentence for Count 2 was increased to 20 years, and run concurrently with his other sentences.

Pierce, 35, of Harvey, pleaded guilty to racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to distribute heroin, distribute of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. His sentences also were run concurrently, totaling 20 years.

Pierce also pleaded guilty as a double offender for his 2009 conviction of attempted possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The 15-year prison sentence he received for Count 2 was increased to 20 years and run concurrently with his other sentences.

Gumms, 20, of Terrytown, pleaded guilty to racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to distribute heroin and five counts of attempted second-degree murder. He was sentenced to 25 years on each count, and Sullivan ran the sentences concurrently for a total of 25 years.

The attempted-murder charges stem from an April 22, 2013, shooting at the Lapalco Apartments, in the 2300 block of Lapalco Boulevard in Harvey. Authorities say at least two armed men stood outside an apartment and began shooting into the front door. A 1-year-old girl was left paralyzed, and two toddlers, ages 2 and 3, were injured. Additionally, two women, ages 63 and 67, were struck by bullets.

Chess, Pierce and Gumms admitted to roles in the criminal enterprise in which cocaine and heroin was funneled into the area from Texas and sold on New Orleans-area streets. The racketeering offense involved the gang’s activities from January 2006 through January 2015, according to the bill of indictment.

The gang, whose roots date to the 1980s in Harvey’s Scotsdale neighborhood, protected its narcotics trafficking and distribution ring through its enforcement arm known as the Murder Squad. At least seven homicides have been tied to people affiliated with the Harvey Hustlers through the joint local and federal investigation, authorities say.

Through a cooperative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana and the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors have decided which jurisdiction to bring the cases. Federal prosecutors have handled numerous Harvey Hustler cases in U.S. District Court in New Orleans.

In February 2015, prosecutors in Jefferson Parish obtained the 21-defendant indictment in state court. As of Monday, 19 have either pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial. A look of the defendants whose cases have been adjudicated shows:

  • Bryant Gumms, 24, of Harvey, pleaded guilty Thursday (Jan. 28), to racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to distribute heroin. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
  • Derrick Gumms, 27, of Harvey, pleaded guilty Thursday (Jan. 28), to racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to distribute heroin. He, too, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Bryant and Derrick are siblings.
  • Robert C. Williams, 24, of Avondale, was convicted by a Jefferson Parish jury as charged on Nov. 11 of racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, two counts of convicted felon in possession of a firearm, illegal possession of a stolen firearm and distribution of cocaine. He was sentenced to 75 years in prison on Jan. 19.
  • Alcus Smith, 29, of Harvey, stood trial with Williams and was convicted of racketeering, conspiracy to distribute narcotics and distribution of cocaine. He was sentenced to 65 years in prison on Nov. 17. The jury that handed up the verdict was unable to decide Smith’s charge of second-degree murder. Prosecutors plan to retry Smith for the second-degree murder charge.
  • Willie Thornton, 31, of Harvey, pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute narcotics and two counts of distribution of cocaine. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Jan. 13.
  • Lashawn Davis, 22, of Gretna, pleaded guilty as charged on Nov. 30 to racketeering, five counts of attempted second-degree murder and two counts of conspiracy to distribute narcotics. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
  • Davante D. Robertson, 21, of Gretna, pleaded guilty on Dec. 15 to racketeering and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Prosecutors dismissed five counts of attempted second-degree murder.
  • Ellis C. Landix, 30, of Marrero, pleaded guilty on Jan. 13 to conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison as a multiple offender.
  • Paul Smith, 26, of Avondale, pleaded guilty Sept. 28, to racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute oxycodone. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.
  • Brandon J. Motton, 29, of New Orleans, pleaded guilty on Jan. 199, to racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, marijuana and heroin, and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
  • Keitrel B. Gumms, 25, of Harvey, pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to racketeering, two counts conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana, respectively, distribution of cocaine, distribution of marijuana and cruelty to juveniles. His sentencing is set for Feb. 29.
  • Stephanie J. Bradley, 44, of Harvey, pleaded guilty to racketeering on Oct. 19. Her sentencing is set for Feb. 16.
  • Corey H. Trent, 26, of Marrero, pleaded guilty on Aug 17, to racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, marijuana and cocaine, distribution of cocaine and cruelty to juveniles. He was sentenced to eight years on prison.
  • Kentaz R. Gayden, 28, of Harahan, pleaded guilty on Dec. 11 to racketeering and two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, marijuana and heroin. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
  • Rasheed Smith, 25, of Westwego, pleaded guilty on Jan. 4 to racketeering and two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, marijuana and heroin. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
  • Nathan Carter, 31, of Gretna, pleaded guilty on Oct. 8 to racketeering and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Two defendants still have open cases:

  • Charles D. Gumms, 21, of Terrytown, awaits trial on charges of racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession or distribution of a legend drug without a prescription. Charles Gumms and Charlie Gumms, who pleaded guilty Monday, are siblings.
  • Kerry J. Reynard, 26, of Marrero, is charged with racketeering and two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, marijuana and heroin.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant District Attorneys Doug Freese and Seth Shute prosecuted them.

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Tavis Joseph sentenced to life in prison in Harvey double murder case

More than six months after he was convicted at his trial, a West Bank man was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison Monday (Feb. 1), in connection with the 2013 slayings of two Southern University students who were gunned down in Harvey’s Woodmere subdivision.

Tavis C. Joseph, 22, was convicted July 30 of two counts of second-degree murder in the Aug. 13, 2013 deaths of Nikiayah Westerfield and Dave Harrison. The victims were both 19 and college students when they were killed during what authorities say was an ambush during a marijuana sale in the 4000 block of Paige Janette Drive.

Chief Judge Conn Regan of the 24th Judicial District Court handed down the mandatory life sentences after denying Joseph’s request for a new trial. Regan ran the sentences concurrently.

Authorities say Joseph was one of four suspects who arranged to purchase an ounce of marijuana valued at $350 from the victims, according to evidence presented in court. One of those four suspects was never identified, while three have been convicted.

Irvin Harris, 23, of Harvey, was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder, illegal possession of a stolen firearm and conspiracy to obstruct justice in December 2014 and was sentenced to two mandatory life sentences in prison.

Jerremy Coleman, 22, of Waggaman, pleaded guilty last year to two counts of manslaughter in the case and received a 30-year prison sentence. Coleman, who was armed with a stolen Kimber .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol, was left partially paralyzed when he was shot during the incident. Detectives say that Harrison was armed with a pistol and began shooting after the suspects opened fire.

Meanwhile, Harris’ parents, Edward Harris, 40, and Kanetra T. Whyte, 38, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice. They were accused of trying to help their son beat the murder charges.

Whyte was sentenced to three years of probation, while Edward Harris was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

At the time he attempted to help his son, Edward Harris was serving a 45-year sentence in a state prison for his conviction of a double homicide in Marrero in 1994.

Assistant District Attorneys Doug Freese and Thomas Sanderson prosecuted the cases, which were investigated by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

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Harvey Hustlers gang members sentenced to 20 years in prison in drug racketeering case

Two more of the 21 members of the West Jefferson-based Harvey Hustlers street gang who were charged in a 30-count indictment last year were sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday (Jan. 28), as part of plea agreements with the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office.

Bryant Gumms, 24, and Derrick Gumms, 27, siblings who lived in Harvey, each pleaded guilty to racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to distribute heroin. Judge Henry Sullivan of the 24th Judicial District Court accepted their pleas and handed down the sentences.

The Gumms brothers admitted to roles in the criminal enterprise whose soldiers funneled cocaine and heroin into the area from Texas and sold the narcotics on New Orleans-area streets. The racketeering offense involved the gang’s activities from January 2006 through January 2015, according to the bill of indictment.

The gang, whose roots date to the 1980s in Harvey’s Scotsdale neighborhood, protected its narcotics trafficking and distribution ring through its enforcement arm known as the Murder Squad. At least seven homicides have been tied to the Harvey Hustlers through the joint local and federal investigation, authorities say.

Through a cooperative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana and the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors decided which jurisdiction to bring the Harvey Hustler cases. Federal prosecutors have handled numerous Harvey Hustler cases in U.S. District Court in New Orleans in recent years. In February 2015, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office obtained a 30-count grand jury indictment in state court, naming 21 defendants.

Bryant Gumms and Derrick Gumms were among them. They were sentenced to 20 years for racketeering, 15 years for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and 20 years for conspiracy to distribute heroin.

Each man also pleaded guilty to being double offenders under Louisiana’s habitual offender law because of prior convictions of narcotics-related offenses. Sullivan increased their 15-year sentences for Count 2 of the indictment to 20 years. He ran the three sentences concurrently, for a total of 20 years in prison.

Of the 21 defendants, 14 have either pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial. A look of the defendants whose cases have been adjudicated shows:

  • Robert C. Williams, 24, of Avondale, was convicted by a Jefferson Parish jury as charged on Nov. 11 of racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, two counts of convicted felon in possession of a firearm, illegal possession of a stolen firearm and distribution of cocaine. He was sentenced to 120 years in prison on Jan. 19.
  • Alcus Smith, 29, of Harvey, stood trial with Williams and was convicted of racketeering, conspiracy to distribute narcotics and distribution of cocaine. He was sentenced to 65 years in prison on Nov. 17. The jury that handed up the verdict was unable to decide Smith’s charge of second-degree murder. Prosecutors plan to retry Smith for the second-degree murder charge.
  • Willie Thornton, 31, of Harvey, pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute narcotics and two counts of distribution of cocaine. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Jan. 13.
  • Lashawn Davis, 22, of Gretna, pleaded guilty as charged on Nov. 30 to racketeering, five counts of attempted second-degree murder and two counts of conspiracy to distribute narcotics. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
  • Davante D. Robertson, 21, of Gretna, pleaded guilty on Dec. 15 to racketeering and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Prosecutors dismissed five counts of attempted second-degree murder.
  • Ellis C. Landix, 30, of Marrero, pleaded guilty on Jan. 13 to conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison as a multiple offender.
  • Paul Smith, 26, of Avondale, pleaded guilty Sept. 28, to racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute oxycodone. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.
  • Brandon J. Motton, 29, of New Orleans, pleaded guilty on Jan. 199, to racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, marijuana and heroin, and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
  • Keitrel B. Gumms, 25, of Harvey, pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to racketeering, two counts conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana, respectively, distribution of cocaine, distribution of marijuana and cruelty to juveniles. His sentencing is set for Feb. 29.
  • Stephanie J. Bradley, 44, of Harvey, pleaded guilty to racketeering on Oct. 19. Her sentencing is set for Feb. 16.
  • Corey H. Trent, 26, of Marrero, pleaded guilty on Aug 17, to racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, marijuana and cocaine, distribution of cocaine and cruelty to juveniles. He was sentenced to eight years on prison.
  • Kentaz R. Gayden, 28, of Harahan, pleaded guilty on Dec. 11 to racketeering and two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, marijuana and heroin. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
  • Rasheed Smith, 25, of Westwego, pleaded guilty on Jan. 4 to racketeering and two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, marijuana and heroin. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
  • Nathan Carter, 31, of Gretna, pleaded guilty on Oct. 8 to racketeering and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
  • Marlon Mercy, 38, of Fresno, Texas, was indicted separately in connection with the Harvey Hustlers in March 2015. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 23 to racketeering and conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Five defendants still have open cases:

  • Charlie A. Gumms, 20, of Terrytown, remains charged with five counts of attempted second-degree murder, two counts of conspiracy to distribute narcotics and racketeering.
  • Charles D. Gumms, 21, of Terrytown, awaits trial on charges of racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession or distribution of a legend drug without a prescription.
  • Richard L. Chess, 24, of Harvey, is charged with racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, marijuana and heroin, distribution of cocaine and cruelty to a juvenile.
  • Kerry J. Reynard, 26, of Marrero, is charged with racketeering and two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, marijuana and heroin.
  • Carnell S. Pierce, 35, of Harvey, is charged with racketeering, two counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, marijuana and heroin, distribution of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant District Attorneys Doug Freese and Seth Shute prosecuted the cases.

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