A Jefferson Parish judge on Thursday (Jan. 11) sentenced Alonzo Ford to back-to-back life sentences in prison for his convictions of murdering two men in Marrero in 2019.
Ford, 48, of Marrero, shot Martin Hatten in the head in the early morning hours of March 30, 2019, as the 50-year-old victim sat in a sports utility vehicle in the 6200 block of 2nd Avenue. Hatten, 50, died days later in a hospital.
About 36 hours after he shot Hatten, on April 1, 2019, Ford shot Laurence Hensley, 55, as the two men had a discussion in a bay at a car wash business at Acre Road and Buccola Avenue.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives quickly identified Ford as the person who shot Hatten. They were tracking his whereabouts and were on the verge of arresting him when he shot Hensley.
The detectives arrested Ford shortly after he shot Hensley, as he fled them on foot while tossing the .38-caliber revolver and a jacket he wore. Detectives later learned that Hensley witnessed Ford shooting Hattan.
A Jefferson Parish jury on Nov. 30 found Ford guilty as charged of two second-degree murder counts.
Jurors also found Ford guilty of two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of obstruction of justice.
Ford was prohibited from possessing guns because of his criminal history that includes convictions of attempted second-degree murder and narcotics offenses. He finished serving parole in 2018, the year before he killed Hatten and Hensley.
The obstruction counts stem from his discarding the murder weapon and his clothing to hinder the investigation.
During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, family members of both slain men provided victim-impact testimony, telling the court of how Ford’s actions have affected their lives.
“May this letter serve as a testament to the profound grief that your actions have caused our family and your family who was not present during your trial,” Hatten’s niece wrote to the court in letter read aloud by a prosecutor. “My only wish is that you come to understand the magnitude of the pain you have inflicted upon our family.”
“Vengeance is God’s,” Hatten’s older sister testified. “But on the human side, I watched you during the trial. You didn’t seem to have any remorse.”
Said Hensley’s older sister: “He was my best friend. He was a father, uncle. He had grandkids. … I was the one who had to bury him.”
In response to the testimony, Ford expressed his sorrow for the families’ losses but denied killing the men.
After denying defense motions to overturn the verdicts, Judge June Berry Darensburg of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Ford to 20 years for each of the two counts of his being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and 40 years for each of the two counts of obstruction of justice. She ran those sentences concurrently.
Judge Darensburg then sentenced Ford to mandatory life sentences for the two murders. She ran those sentences consecutively to each other and to the other counts.
Assistant District Attorneys Kristen Landrieu and Leo Aaron prosecuted the case.