Month: May 2024

After ‘Ramos retrial,’ Charles Turner sentenced to life in prison for raping a child

A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (May 29) sentenced Charles Turner to spend the rest of his life in prison for his conviction of raping a young child.

It was the second time that Turner, 44, formerly of Metairie, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the crime.

He abused the child over a two-year period beginning in 2013, when the victim was 8 years old. In 2017, a Jefferson Parish jury found Turner guilty as charged of aggravated rape, which carries a mandatory life sentence in prison.

That jury rendered a split verdict, with 11 of the 12 jurors voting in favor of aggravated rape. At the time, non-unanimous jury verdicts were permissible under Louisiana law. However, Turner was granted a new trial in 2020, after the U.S. Supreme Court decided in its Ramos v. Louisiana decision that non-unanimous jury verdicts are unconstitutional.

Turner was retried earlier this month. He again was found guilty as charged of aggravated rape. This time, all 12 jurors agreed with the verdict.

Prior to the sentencing on Wednesday, the victim, now a young adult, testified about the “humiliation and pain” of being victimized and disclosed suicidal thoughts resulting from Turner’s actions.

After denying a defense motion for a new trial, 24th Judicial District Judge Lee Faulkner, who did not preside over the first trial, sentenced Turner to life in prison without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

Assistant District Attorney Zach Grate and Brendan Bowen prosecuted the case the second time.

 

Lam Thach sentenced to life plus 40 years for murdering Ngoc Bich Nguyen in domestic violence stabbing

A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (May 22) sentenced Lam Thach to life in prison plus 40 years for his conviction of fatally stabbing his girlfriend and then discarding evidence tying him to the crime.

Thach, 43, was convicted as charged by a jury earlier this month of the second-degree murder of Ngoc Bich Nguyen, 41.

Thach, who has a history of domestic violence, stabbed her in the neck inside his mobile home in Marrero on Aug. 1, 2021. He then fled on foot, removing his shirt as he walked and tossing it in a nearby garbage bin — leading to his conviction of obstruction of justice.

Nguyen, the oldest of six children and the mother of two, bled to death while being cradled in her mother’s arms on the ground at the Ames Boulevard trailer park. Just moments earlier, Nguyen’s mother witnessed Thach pulling the kitchen knife from her firstborn’s neck.

“Her pain is immeasurable,” one of Nguyen’s younger sisters said of her mother in victim-impact testimony on Wednesday. “Our family will forever bear the scars of this tragedy.”

Click here to read about the trial.

After denying defense motions for a new trial and post-verdict judgment of acquittal, 24th Judicial District Court Judge Ellen Shirer Kovach sentenced Thach to the mandatory life sentence in prison for the murder and the maximum 40 years in prison for obstruction of justice.

Judge Kovach ran the sentences consecutively and then denied the defense motion to reconsider her sentencing decision.

“I believe that the sentence is justified, given the horrific nature of the crime, given the victim impact testimony and, in particular, the lack of remorse shown by Mr. Thach,” Judge Kovach said. She noted Thach laughing when questioned by a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detective after his arrest.

Assistant District Attorneys Lindsay Truhe and Tommy Block prosecuted the case.

District Attorney’s Office will not seek charges against JPSO detectives in 2019 fatal shooting of Chris Joseph and Daviri Robertson

GRETNA, La. – Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul D. Connick Jr. announced today that his office will not seek criminal charges against JPSO narcotics Detectives Paul Carmouche and Mike Wibble. This matter arises out of a narcotics investigation conducted by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office that resulted in the deaths of Chris Joseph and Daviri Robertson.

“The role of the District Attorney in all criminal cases is to seek justice,” D.A. Connick said. “This is done by pursuing the evidence and law according to the highest standards of ethics and integrity, and by determining the facts from an independent, objective and neutral perspective.

“While a homicide is the killing of one person by another, not every homicide is a crime,” D.A. Connick said. “As in all cases, our review must focus upon the elements of proof as well as any legal justifications or defenses that may apply.”

Upon receipt of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office’s report, in which homicide detectives concluded that lethal force was justified, this office began a comprehensive and independent review of this matter without regard to costs, resources or the time required to reach a fair and just decision. As part of our initial review, this office consulted with use-of-force expert, JPSO Lt. Benny Griffin.  Additionally, this office retained independent use-of-force expert Sheriff Ken Katsaris (retired) to provide an opinion on the detectives’ actions in this case.

Both experts agree that the application of deadly force in this situation was reasonable and comports with recognized, accepted and law enforcement training practices.

In light of the evidence reviewed in this matter, the State cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the actions of the detectives rise to the level of criminal conduct.

The D.A.’s Office has published on its website, www.jpda.us, its final report on the matter, outlining the details of its review, analysis of this case and reasons for the decision. Click here to read the District Attorney’s report.

Lam Thach guilty of murdering Ngoc Bich Nguyen in domestic violence stabbing

A Jefferson Parish jury on Thursday (May 9) found Lam Thach guilty of killing his girlfriend by plunging a knife into her neck in Marrero.

Thach, 43, is guilty as charged of the second-degree murder of Ngoc Bich Nguyen, 41, in Marrero on Aug. 1, 2021, jurors unanimously decided.

A native of Vietnam, Nguyen was the oldest of six children who immigrated to the United States in 1990, first to Dallas, Texas, and then Metairie two years later. At the time of her death, she was living in Algiers with an uncle and had been dating Thach about three years.

In the months prior to her death, she twice called New Orleans police to her Joycelyn Drive home to report that Thach had physically abused her. He strangled her, threatened to not let her leave and was armed with a knife, she told police, who arrested him. Just four days after he was released from his bond obligations in the last arrest, he killed her.

On Aug. 1, 2021, after Thach sent Nguyen messages in which he maligned her family and called her derogatory names, Nguyen asked her mother to speak with Thach’s father, with whom she was acquainted.

Nguyen, her mother and her mother’s boyfriend drove to the Ames Boulevard trailer park in Marrero where Thach lived with his father. They spoke with Thach’s father, who in turn wanted his son to apologize.

Without apparent provocation, Thach entered the room and slapped Nguyen as she sat on the sofa. He then locked the front door to prevent anyone from leaving. He threatened to kill Nguyen and then went to the kitchen. Nguyen’s mother called 911.

Thach’s father unlocked the door, and Nguyen’s mother’s boyfriend walked out. Her mother was following him. Nguyen remained behind, sending a text message to her uncle and telling him that Thach slapped her. Her mother was near the front door when Thach reappeared from the kitchen, telling Nguyen, “You cannot leave.”

Nguyen called out: Thach had a knife and was trying to kill her. Her mother turned back toward her daughter. She saw Thach pulling the knife out of her first-born’s neck.

Nguyen’s mother held her hand and walked her out of the trailer, fearing that Thach would harm her, too. They called 911 again. Nguyen then lay on the ground. Cradling her daughter’s head and trying to stop the bleeding, her mother cried, “Don’t leave me.” Nguyen died there in her mother’s arms.

Thach casually walked away, removing his shirt and discarding it in a nearby garbage bin. A Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy responding to the 911 call spotted and arrested him five minutes after he killed Nguyen. Questioned later by a detective, Thach said, “I will take my lick,” street talk for taking the punishment for his actions.

At trial, his attorneys laid blame on Nguyen and her family because they went to the trailer to initiate a confrontation. They asked jurors to consider manslaughter, a lesser homicide offense. And they painted Thach as a sympathetic person who immigrated to the United States about a decade ago, is illiterate, worked as a fisher and is unable to speak clearly because of a cleft lip.

Jurors who were seated Tuesday deliberated about 40 minutes before returning their verdicts. In addition to the murder, Thach was convicted as charged of obstruction of justice for discarding the shirt, which was evidence.

Judge Ellen Shirer Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Thach on May 22.

Assistant District Attorneys Lindsay Truhe and Tommy Block prosecuted the case.

 

Charles Turner convicted anew of raping child in ‘Ramos retrial’

A Jefferson Parish jury on Wednesday (May 8) found Charles Turner guilty of raping a young child, bringing to two the number of times he’s been convicted of the crime.

Turner, 44, formerly of Metairie, is guilty as charged of aggravated rape of a juvenile under age 13.

He abused the child over a two-year period beginning in 2013, when the victim was 8 years old.

Turner was convicted of the crime in November 2017 and was subsequently sentenced to a mandatory life sentence in prison. The jury was non-unanimous, with 11 of the 12 jurors voting in favor of guilty as charged. At the time, non-unanimous jury decisions were permissible under Louisiana law.

However, Turner received a new trial in 2020, after the U.S. Supreme Court decided in its Ramos v. Louisiana decision that non-unanimous jury verdicts are unconstitutional.

The jury that was seated on Monday night deliberated about 3 ½ hours Wednesday before returning with its unanimous verdict. Judge Lee Faulkner of the 24th Judicial District Court, who presided over the retrial, is scheduled to sentence Turner May 29.

Assistant District Attorneys Zach Grate and Brendan Bowen prosecuted the case upon retrial.