Year: 2017

Felon convicted of Jefferson Highway purse snatching

A Jefferson Parish man was convicted Monday morning (May 22) of knocking a woman to the ground while stealing her wallet and cell phone, and causing her to fracture her right hip.

Ronald Wallace, 48, was found guilty as charged of purse snatching, following a judge trial that lasted less than two hours.

The crime happened about 7 a.m., on Sept. 23. The victim, a 61-year-old woman, had just purchased donuts at a business in the 3300 block of Jefferson Highway, and was walking to her car in the parking lot when Wallace approached her from behind.

He told her something, and when she turned to see him behind her, Wallace forcibly grabbed her wallet and cell phone. During the struggle, the woman fell to the ground, injuring her hip.

Wallace fled on foot into the adjacent neighborhood on Brown Street. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office used a cell phone app to locate her phone and some of her belongings, which were recovered about two blocks from where Wallace stole them. Deputies canvasing the area recovered her wallet on Brown Street.

Within a week of the crime, the JPSO Regional DNA Laboratory identified Wallace’s genetic material on the wallet. Detectives were able to include Wallace’s mug shot in a photographic line-up, and the victim was able to identify her attacker.

Wallace had been released from state prison less than two months earlier for a conviction of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Detectives went to the address his parole officer had, eventually leading to Wallace’s arrest at the Jefferson Highway restaurant where he worked as a dishwasher.

Wallace waived a jury trial, leaving it to 24th Judicial District Judge Lee Faulkner to weigh the evidence in the case. Immediately following the state resting its case, Judge Faulkner rendered his verdict: guilty as charged. Wallace is scheduled to be sentenced on June 20.

Assistant District Attorney Doug Freese prosecuted the case.

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West Bank men convicted in Marrero double homicide

Two West Bank men were convicted Friday night (May 19) of killing a pair of half-brothers, who were gunned down in an ambush as they sat in a car on a residential Marrero street.

Jordan Hicks, 24, of Westwego, was convicted as charged of two counts of second-degree murder. Ernest Payne Jr., 28, of Marrero, was convicted of two counts of manslaughter, a responsive verdict.

They were convicted in the Aug. 12, 2012, deaths of Martin “Marty” Harry, 19, and Delanta “Dig” McCall, 21.

The victims were shot while in Harry’s 2003 Nissan Maxima, which Harry stopped in the 1600 block of Julie Street at Second Zion Street, in Marrero’s Acre Road public housing development.

According to witness testimony, gunmen in Julie Street behind Harry’s car opened fire, from near Payne’s white pickup truck. A bullet struck McCall in the left side of his head, killing him where he sat in the front passenger seat. Bullets struck driver Harry in the top of his head and the back of his neck, severing his spinal cord. He was pronounced dead later at a hospital.

Their cousin was in the back seat, sitting behind McCall. He was able to flee the car and later identified Hicks as the gunman who approached the car from the rear driver’s side. The cousin also identified Payne as being at the scene.

Beside Harry was an AK-47 rifle, and McCall had a pistol. Evidence showed the men legally purchased the firearms, which they fired at a gun range hours before they were killed. Deputies found three short videos of their being at the gun range on McCall’s cell phone, and they recovered paper targets in the trunk of Harry’s car.

Although numerous people were outside and near the shooting scene, none was voluntarily forthcoming with information, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Travis Eserman testified. He said residents feared retaliation if they were seen speaking with deputies.

The jury of five women and seven men deliberated four hours. Judge Stephen Grefer of the 24th Judicial District Court scheduled the sentencing for June 7.

Assistant District Attorneys Rachel Africk and Seth Shute prosecuted the case.

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Gary Francois sentenced to life for Xmas Eve Oakwood Center mall murder

Gary Francois was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday (May 18), for killing a man in the Oakwood Center mall amid throngs of last-minute Christmas Eve shoppers in 2014.

Francois, 28, of Marrero, received the sentence for his March 23 conviction of the second-degree murder of James Vaughn, 24, of Harvey.

Vaughn had just completed a transaction at an athletic shoe store when Francois, who was waiting and watching from the business’s entrance, quickly walked inside, pulled a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol from his pants and opened fire.

The gunfire triggered pandemonium among shoppers, who ran for cover or fled the mall screaming.

Francois shot Vaughn four times. The first two bullets struck him in the back and hand. Francois then stood over the injured man and shot him twice more in the face.

Francois then fled the mall through a woman’s apparel store. Aided by an off-duty New Orleans policeman who witnessed much of the shooting, Jefferson Parish deputies and Gretna officers pursued Francois through adjacent residential neighborhoods before capturing him.

The Jefferson Parish jury rejected Francois’ insanity defense, finding he knew the difference between right and wrong when he killed Vaughn.

Vaughn’s mother, Kisha Vaughn, told the court in impact testimony Thursday that the youngest of her four children was at the mall purchasing her Christmas gift when he was killed.

“This was a senseless, selfish act. It has really shattered my life,” Ms. Vaughn testified.

After rejecting post-trial defense motions and hearing impact testimony from Vaughn’s mother and Francois’ mother, who apologized to Vaughn’s family, 24th Judicial District Court Judge Lee Faulkner handed down the sentence.

Life in prison without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence is the mandatory punishment for the charge under Louisiana law.

Assistant District Attorneys Rachel Africk and Lynn Schiffman prosecuted the case.

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Gretna man convicted of producing child pornography while sexually abusing 1-year-old girl

A Gretna man was found guilty Tuesday night (May 16), of using his cell phone to take videos and photographs of himself sexually abusing a toddler.

Roy Dixon Jr., 26, was convicted as charged of two counts of sexual battery of a juvenile under age 13 and one count of production of pornography involving juveniles under the age of 13. The victim, who is not being identified, was a 1-year-old girl when Dixon abused her.

Dixon was 21 years old when the Gretna Police Department arrested him on Jan. 26, 2013. Earlier that day, a 21-year-old Algiers man Dixon met through a website personals ad visited Dixon at his Gretna home for a sex encounter. Afterward, while Dixon was out of the room, the visitor scrolled through Dixon’s cell phone and found an illegal video. The visitor fled with the device and alerted the New Orleans Police Department’s 4th District in Algiers.

New Orleans police seized the phone and referred the man to Gretna police, leading to Dixon’s arrest a short time later. While in a holding cell at Gretna police headquarters, detective Jeff Laborie overheard Dixon crying and speaking to himself, referring to himself as “stupid” and saying he should have deleted the videos.

Dixon later confessed to detective Sgt. Louis Alvarez, during an interview that was video recorded and shown to the jury on Tuesday. Dixon told the detective he created the images at the request of a man named Brad, whom he said he met at a West Bank bookstore.

Dixon asserted he shared the videos with the man via text messages. But he otherwise denied harming or raping the child.

Detective Stephen Villere, who supervises the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office’s Digital Forensics Unit, found 14 illicit photographs and three videos on Dixon’s laptop computer and cell phone. All images were taken on Dixon’s phone, in July and August of 2012, and transferred to the laptop, Villere testified.

Dixon’s defense team denied the charges. Dixon’s mother testified in her son’s defense, accusing police of coercing the confession. She also asserted that someone else created the incriminating images.

The jury of five women and seven men deliberated a half hour in reaching its verdict. Judge Stephen Enright of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Dixon on June 15.

Assistant District Attorneys Blair Constant and Lynn Schiffman prosecuted the case.

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Dexter Allen sentenced to life without parole in killing David Pence, son Nicolas in their Metairie home

Dexter Allen of New Orleans, convicted by a Jefferson Parish jury of brutally executing a father and son in their Metairie home while on an auto burglary spree in a residential neighborhood two years ago, was sentenced on Friday (April 21) to  life in prison without parole.

Allen, 19, snuck into the Pence family home just before midnight on April 22, 2015, killing David Pence, 56, and his son Nicholas Pence, 25, with blasts from a stolen shotgun. Allen, who lived with his mother in New Orleans at the time, traveled to Metairie in sports-utility vehicle that he allegedly carjacked earlier that day in Orleans Parish.

Allen targeted a car parked in the Pence driveway. From there, Allen entered the home, intending to steal a purse set on the kitchen counter, which he could see from outside. David Pence was shot as he slept in a recliner, and Nicholas Pence was shot as he rushed into the living room after hearing the shotgun blasts.

A Jefferson Parish jury deliberated about two hours on Oct. 17, 2016, in finding Allen guilty as charged of two counts of second-degree murder and 19 counts of simple burglary. The latter convictions were for breaking into cars.

Mandatory life in prison without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence is the statutory punishment for second-degree murder under Louisiana law. However, because he was under age 18 at the time he killed the Pences, Allen could not receive a “mandatory” life sentence in prison, in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2012 decision, Miller vs. Alabama.

As such, Judge Raymond Steib of the 24th Judicial District Court, presiding over the case, had the discretion to sentence Allen to life in prison either without or with parole. The latter sentence would allow Allen to apply for parole after serving 35 years of his sentence, provided certain criteria are met.

Judge Steib heard impact testimony during a sentencing hearing on Thursday, from witnesses that included the Pence family, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detective who led the investigation and from Allen’s mother.

The Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office argued that Allen deserved life in prison without parole. The defense argued for parole eligibility.

Noting the crimes Allen committed were “heinous,” an emotional Judge Steib opted to sentence Allen to life in prison without parole and two years for each of the 19 simple burglary counts.

“At no time has this court seen Mr. Allen show any emotion other than anger. There has been no remorse,” Judge Steib said.

Allen also is charged in New Orleans with attempted second-degree murder, illegal possession of stolen things, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and armed robbery with a firearm. He is scheduled to stand trial on those charges in May in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court.

Allen’s former girlfriend, Haraquon Degruy, 20, of New Orleans, is charged with two counts of being a principal to second-degree murder and 19 counts of simple burglary. Her trial is set for May in Judge Steib’s court.

Assistant District Attorneys Seth Shute and Rachel Africk prosecuted the case.

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Albert Cox sentenced to life plus 15 years in prison for Kenner killing

A week after he was convicted of fatally shooting a Kenner man in front of his mother’s home, Albert “Wayne” Cox was sentenced Wednesday to a mandatory life sentence in prison plus another 15 years of incarceration.

Cox, 38, a former Kenner resident, received the additional 15-year sentence for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, for using a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol to kill Cornel Woods.

Woods, 42, died from a gunshot wound to his chest he received on Oct. 7, 2015, as he stood outside his mother’s home in the 900 block of 27th Street. Earlier that day, Cox confronted Woods over a woman, calling him “a bitch” and threatening to pistol whip him.

That evening, a friend of Woods’ saw Cox walking up 27th Street toward Woods’ home, according to trial testimony. Moments later, the friend heard three gunshots and saw the muzzle flashes.

Cox fired three bullets. One struck a truck, another flattened a car tire. The third fatally wounded Woods.

Cox fled to an eastern New Orleans motel, from where he admitted to two cousins in separate telephone conversations that he killed Woods, leading the Kenner Police Department to obtain a warrant for his arrest. Cox admitted the same to another cousin.

Two days after the homicide, the U.S. Marshal’s Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force located and arrested Cox outside the bus station in Baton Rouge.

Cox was barred from possessing firearms because of his criminal history. According to the bill of indictment, Cox’s relevant convictions were for distribution of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of cocaine, all of which occurred in Jefferson Parish. Cox was on parole for those offenses at the time he killed Woods, having been released from state prison in May 2015. He was to remain under state supervision through January 2018, according to the Kenner Police Department.

A Jefferson Parish jury deliberated about an hour on April 12 in finding Cox guilty as charged of both counts. Life in prison without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence is the mandatory punishment for second-degree murder in Louisiana.

Judge John Molaison of the 24th Judicial District Court, who presided over the case, denied post-conviction motions for acquittal and a new trial. Judge Molaison ran the sentences consecutively.

Assistant District Attorneys Rachel Africk and Douglas Rushton prosecuted the case.

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Kenner man convicted of murder, firearm offense

A Kenner man faces a mandatory life sentence in prison for his conviction on Wednesday (April 12) of killing another man on a residential street.

Albert “Wayne” Cox, 38, was convicted as charged of second-degree murder for the Oct. 7, 2015, killing of Cornel Woods. Cox also was convicted as charged of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, for the .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol he used to shoot Woods.

Woods, 42, was shot once in the chest while he stood outside his mother’s home in the 900 block of 27th Street. Cox fired three bullets at Woods, hours after he threatened him in a dispute involving a woman.

Earlier on the day he was shot, Woods socialized with a friend in his pickup truck in their neighborhood when Cox approached them, striking up an argument and calling Woods “a bitch.” Cox then threatened to “pistol-whip” Woods later, the friend testified.

Later that evening, the friend was walking his dog on 27th Street when he noticed Cox walking up the street toward Woods’ home. The friend used his cell phone to call Woods to warn him. Moments later, the friend heard three gunshots and saw the muzzle flashes in front of Woods’ mother’s home.

Of the three bullets Cox fired, one struck a car tire, flattening it, and another one hit a truck. The third bullet struck Woods in the chest, killing him.

After the murder, Cox admitted to his cousin on the telephone that he shot woods. He confirmed the revelation to another cousin in a telephone conversation shortly afterwards. The cousins notified the Kenner Police Department, which obtained a warrant for Cox’s arrest.

Cox also spoke with a third cousin, admitting to her, too, that he shot someone and telling her he needed a place to stay. The U.S. Marshal’s Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force tracked Cox to Baton Rouge, where the officers arrested him outside the city’s bus station two days after he killed Woods.

Cox was barred from possessing firearms because of his criminal history. According to the bill of indictment, Cox’s relevant convictions were for distribution of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of cocaine, all of which occurred in Jefferson Parish.

The jury deliberated an hour in reaching its unanimous verdicts. Judge John Molaison of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Cox on Wednesday (April 19).

Assistant District Attorneys Rachel Africk and Douglas Rushton prosecuted the case.

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DA’s Office pre-trial diversion supervisor, DWI counselor to receive national awards

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Pictured are, from left, Sandra Encalade, supervisor of Drug Diversion; Pam Occhipinti, chief of Diversion; Maureen Bradshaw, DWI substance abuse counselor; Katie Theriot, deputy chief of DWI Diversion; Vin Lamia, substance abuse counselor; Blake Bascle, deputy chief of pre-trial diversion and who oversees pre-trial juvenile diversion; and, Stacy Krider, substance abuse counselor.

Two Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office employees are receiving national recognition for their decades of counseling and community-related work.

Maureen Bradshaw, a substance abuse counselor in the DA’s Pre-Trial Adult Diversion program, and Blake Bascle, deputy chief of Pre-Trial Diversion who oversees the Pre-Trial Juvenile Diversion Program, will receive the awards during a national conference to be held in New Orleans, April 10-12.

They were selected for recognition by the executive board for the Treatment Accountability for Safer Communities, or TASC, a nationwide association whose members work with 220 programs dedicated to the professional delivery of assessment and case management services to substance involved criminal justice and court populations.

Bradshaw will receive the Milton Abrams Award, formerly known as the Spirit of Recovery award. It is given to someone who has overcome an addiction to drugs or alcohol, remained sober for at least 10 years, is a productive citizen and contributes positively to his or her community through work or volunteerism.

Bascle will receive the association’s Innovator Award, given because of the significant effort he has made in enhancing the behavioral health field. Nominees for the Innovator Award must demonstrate creativity and resourcefulness in promoting new behavioral health programs to better serve our diverse populations.

Bradshaw has been sober for 31 years and has been a substance abuse counselor for 28 years. She graduated summa cum laude from Southern University at New Orleans in substance abuse counseling and sociology in 1992.

She holds certifications in clinical supervision and co-occurring disorders and is a licensed addiction counselor who has worked for the DA’s Office since 2013. Before her recruitment to the DA’s Office, Bradshaw spent much of her career working as a clinician and director of inpatient high-intensive residential treatment.

Bascle, who has worked in the field for 27 years, received a master of social work from Tulane University in 1989 and a bachelor of psychology from the University of New Orleans. A licensed certified social worker and board-approved supervisor, he worked in the mental health industry as a psychotherapist in private practice and served a stint in Mobile, Ala., as director of several behavioral health facilities in that city.

In 2012, he joined the staff of the Jefferson Parish Juvenile Court’s Family in Need of Services, or FINS. The following year, the DA’s Office recruited Bascle to lead its Juvenile Pre-Trial Diversion Program. Bascle is receiving the award for his innovative work with the Jefferson Parish Public School and the creation and implementation of “Restorative Practices” within the school and criminal justice systems.

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National Crime Victims’ Rights Week 2017 events include march for sexual assault awareness

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National Crime Victims’ Rights Week 2017 poster.

New Orleans-area law enforcement agencies and victim service providers are observing this year’s National Crime Victims’ Rights Week 2017, drawing attention to the annual event with a memorial balloon release and a tutu march through the Faubourg Marigny and French Quarter.

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, which this year is April 2-8, is designed to draw the public’s attention to the emotional, physical and financial burdens crime victims must endure. The week also provides the opportunity to recognize the various services that are available to crime victims and their families.

This year’s theme is “Strength. Resilience. Justice.” This reflects a vision for the future in which all victims are strengthened by the response they receive, organizations are resilient in response to challenges, and communities are able to seek collective justice and healing, according to the U.S. Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crimes, which coordinates the weeks.

“It is our honor to speak for those who have been silenced as we pursue justice, and we are privileged to have the great responsibility of fighting for justice for our victims,” said Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul D. Connick Jr., whose office led this year’s planning committee.

“The power of partnerships is where the crime victims’ rights movement began more than three decades ago,” said Nancy Michel, who heads the Jefferson DA’s Victim-Witness Unit. “Victims who feel understood and supported are more likely to disclose their victimization and participate in the criminal justice process.”

This year, various religious denominations have agreed to highlight the victims’ rights during Sunday services. In Jefferson Parish, law enforcement and district attorney’s office employees will wear red, white and blue bracelets to mark the week.

The week’s events include:

  • Monday, April 3, “Wear Blue Peace Day,” in support of child abuse prevention.
  • Tuesday, April 4, “Violence in Our City,” a community round table discussion, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m., at the Orleans Parish Justice Center, 2800 Perdido St., New Orleans
  • Thursday, April 6, “Tutu Walk for Sexual Assault Awareness,” 6 p.m. The walk begins at Washington Square Park, 700 Elysian Fields Ave. The route takes tutu-wearing marchers up Royal Street to Bienville Street, then down Bourbon to Toulouse, to Decatur Street and returning to Washington Square Park via Elysian Fields.
  • Friday, April 7, Memorial Balloon Release, sponsored by Silence is Violence. Crime victims will release biodegradable balloons at 6 p.m., at Bayou St. John near Orleans Avenue.
  • Saturday, April 8, in conjunction with the French Quarter Festival, the New Orleans Police Department will host a crime victims resource both, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., at its 8th District station, 334 Royal St., in the French Quarter.

Planning and hosting this year’s events are the district attorney’s offices and law enforcement agencies in Jefferson, Orleans and Plaquemines parishes; the coroner’s offices in Jefferson and Orleans parishes; Silence is Violence; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Covenant House, through Greater New Orleans Human Trafficking Task Force; Metropolitan Center for Women and Children; and Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response (STAR) of New Orleans.

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Gary Francois guilty of murder in Xmas Eve 2014 Oakwood Center mall shooting

A Marrero man faces a mandatory life sentence in prison for his conviction on Thursday (March 23) of killing another man in the Oakwood Center mall on Christmas Eve 2014.

Gary Francois, 28, is guilty as charged of second-degree murder in the death of James Vaughn, who was exchanging a pair of pants for a larger size at an athletic shoe store in the West Jefferson mall when he was killed about 4:15 p.m. The gunfire caused pandemonium among the Christmas Eve shoppers, some of whom took cover inside the mall or fled screaming toward the exits.

A Jefferson Parish jury deliberated under 2 ½ hours before rejecting Francois’ insanity defense, finding he knew the difference between right and wrong when he shot Vaughn.

His attorneys did not deny that Francois killed Vaughn. They argued that he could not be held criminally responsible because of schizophrenia and a paranoid episode triggered by a belief that Vaughn was at the center of a conspiracy against him.

The District Attorney’s Office rebutted the defense theory with testimony from forensic psychiatrist Dr. Richard Richoux and forensic psychologist Dr. Rafael Salcedo, both of whom evaluated Francois on behalf of the state. They concluded that although Francois has a psychiatric disorder, his actions preceding, during and immediately following the homicide prove that he was able to distinguish right from wrong when he shot Vaughn.

Judge Lee Faulkner of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Francois on May 18.

Assistant District Attorneys Rachel Africk and Lynn Schiffman prosecuted the case.

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