Author: Paul Purpura

Algiers man convicted of Bucktown murder

An Algiers man was convicted as charged Thursday night (Oct. 12), of killing a Metairie man while trying to rob him in Bucktown last year.

Bobby James, 25, of Algiers, is guilty of second-degree murder and attempted armed robbery. James was convicted of fatally shooting Dwayne Baptiste, 27, in the back while trying to rob him at an apartment building at West Esplanade Avenue and Lake Avenue about 6 p.m., on May 3, 2016. Baptiste died three days later at a hospital.

While Baptiste was known to carry a large quantity of cash on that day, no one saw who stole the money from the victim, whether it was James or bystanders who pilfered the roll of cash from the mortally wounded man’s pockets. Therefore, James was charged with attempted armed robbery.

The Jefferson Parish jury also heard testimony about James being an accused gunman in an Algiers home invasion. The victim, Cory Bush, 35, was fatally shot on Dec. 10, 2012, as he unknowingly entered his Brunswick Court home while the crime was underway. James awaits trial in New Orleans Criminal District Court.

The jury deliberated just over two hours before announcing its verdict about 10 p.m. James faces life in prison with no chance of probation, parole or suspension of sentence for the murder.

Judge Stephen Enright of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence James on Nov. 2.

Assistant District Attorneys Doug Freese and Brittany Beckner prosecuted the case.

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Convicted child molester sentenced to 60 years in prison

A Mississippi man who was convicted last week of molesting two juvenile girls in Jefferson Parish was sentenced Thursday (Oct. 12) to 60 years in prison.

Billy Joe Howard, 33, of Kiln, was convicted by a jury on Oct. 6 of sexual battery of a juvenile under age 13 and indecent behavior with a juvenile under age 13. The crimes occurred within a 45-day period in July and August 2015.

Howard met the victims, who were ages 11 and 7 when they were molested, through their mothers. He met the women through a dating website. Neither woman was aware of the other until after Howard was arrested. While free on bond in the Jefferson Parish cases, Howard was booked in Harrison County, Miss., accused of molesting a 16-year-old girl.

After rejecting a defense-motion for a new trial and hearing impact testimony from one of the victims and the mother of the other victim, Judge Henry Sullivan of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Howard to 40 years for the sexual battery and 20 years for the indecent behavior.

Judge Sullivan ordered the sentences to be run consecutively, given that there were two separate victims and crimes.

Howard will not be eligible for probation, parole or suspension of sentence. He also will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life after completing his prison sentence.

Assistant District Attorneys Lindsay Truhe and Zachary Popovich prosecuted the case.

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Mississippi man convicted of molesting Jefferson Parish girls

A Mississippi man was found guilty Thursday night (Oct. 5) of molesting two Jefferson Parish girls during a 45-day period in 2015.

Billy Joe Howard, 33, of Kiln, was convicted as charged of sexual battery of a juvenile under age 13 and indecent behavior with a juvenile under age 13.

The victims were ages 11 and 7 when the abuse occurred. Howard encountered the children after meeting their mothers through a dating website, in one case only a week before he molested the child, according to evidence presented to the jury.

He committed the sexual battery of the 11-year-old girl in July 2015, and he committed indecent behavior the following month with the 7-year-old girl.

The victims’ mothers were notified, leading to criminal investigations by the Westwego Police Department and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Howard gained his release from custody after posting bond. While awaiting trial, he was accused of molesting a 16-year-old girl in Hancock County, Miss., according to evidence presented during the trial.

The Jefferson Parish jury deliberated just over an hour before returning with its unanimous verdicts at 7:45 p.m. Judge Henry Sullivan of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Howard on Thursday (Oct. 12).

Assistant District Attorneys Lindsay Truhe and Zachary Popovich prosecuted the case.

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Grand Isle resident sentenced to 26 years in child abuse case

A former Grand Isle resident was sentenced to more than 26 years in prison Tuesday (Sept. 19), after he admitted he sought to pay $400 to have sex with a 6- to 7-year-old girl in his home on the barrier island.

Wade Perkins III, 32, pleaded guilty as charged to attempted first-degree rape and four counts of possession of images depicting the sexual abuse of children. Perkins already was a convicted sex-offender, having been convicted in 2006 of having sex with a 14-year-old girl in his native Michigan.

Agents with the Louisiana State Police and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Houma office, arrested Perkins on April 28, 2016, during an investigation triggered by a tip on Perkins’ seeking sex with juvenile girls.

In accepting the guilty pleas, Judge Ray Steib of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Perkins to 25 years in prison for each of the five counts and ran them concurrently. Perkins then pleaded guilty to being a double offender, given his prior conviction of second-degree criminal sexual conduct in Romulus, Mich.

Perkin was resentenced to 26 years and four months in prison as a two-time felon under Louisiana’s habitual offender law. He does not get benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. He also faces a lifetime of sex offender registration.

Perkins also faces similar charges in Michigan.

Assistant District Attorneys Emily Booth and Douglas Rushton prosecuted the case.

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West Bank men receive heavy prison sentences for 2015 crime spree that included murder

Six days after they were convicted of a 2015 crime spree that left one man dead and another bound to a wheelchair for life, two West Bank men were sentenced Thursday (Sept. 14).

Corey Flag, 25, of Marrero, was sentenced to life plus 167 years in prison. Emmett Garrison IV, 18, of Gretna, was sentenced to 197 years in prison and awaits his punishment for murder.

Because he was under age 18 at the time, Garrison cannot face a mandatory life sentence for murder, as Louisiana’s statute requires for adults. Garrison could be deemed parole eligible after 25 years but also could get life in prison without parole.

Judge John Molaison of the 24th Judicial District Court set a Nov. 6 hearing to consider Garrison’s punishment for the second-degree murder.

A Jefferson Parish jury on Friday night unanimously convicted Flag and Garrison as charged of offenses asserted in a 10-count indictment. The crimes included the second-degree murder of Bruce Lutcher Sr., 34, who was shot multiple times while being robbed outside his apartment in the 1600 block of Ute Drive on Nov. 23, 2015.

They also were convicted of robbing and attempting to rob three men outside their apartments in Terrytown and Harvey, within an hour’s span on Dec. 11, 2015. One of the victims, a 25-year-old man, was shot by Garrison and left paralyzed from the waist down.

Flag also was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and illegal use of a firearm. Garrison was convicted of attempted second-degree murder, for shooting the man who was left paralyzed. Together they were convicted of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and illegal discharge of a firearm. The latter charge involved a Dec. 9, 2015 drive-by shooting in Marrero.

Judge Molaison, in explaining his reasons for sentencing, noted Flag and Garrison robbed four victims, all involving a firearm. Judge Molaison said he found no mitigating grounds to excuse their criminal conduct.

UPDATE: Following several court appearances during which testimony was given, Garrison, now 20, was sentenced on Dec. 3, 2018, to a mandatory life sentence in prison for his second-degree murder conviction.

Judge William “Chuck” Credo III, sitting ad hoc in the court’s Division E seat, ordered Garrison’s life sentence to be served consecutive to the 197 years given by Judge Molaison.

In court filings, prosecutors in October 2017 announced their intent to seek life without parole for Garrison and requested sentencing hearings. Because he was under age 18 at the time he participated in the murder of Mr. Lutcher, Garrison could not automatically face a mandatory life sentence in prison. By law, life without parole is reserved for “the rare juvenile offender whose crime reflects irreparable corruption,” according to court documents. 

Assistant District Attorneys Doug Freese and Rachel Africk prosecuted the case.

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West Bank men convicted of murder, armed robberies in 2015 crime spree

Two West Bank men were convicted as charged Friday night (Sept. 8) for committing a violent, month-long crime spree in late 2015 that left one man dead and another partially paralyzed.

Emmett Garrison IV, 18, of Marrero, and Corey Flag, 25, of Gretna, were convicted of all charges listed in the 10-count bill of indictment. The charges:

  • Count 1, second-degree murder. Garrison and Flag killed Bruce Lutcher Sr., 34, while robbing him outside his apartment in the 1600 block of Ute Drive in Harvey on Nov. 23, 2015.
  • Count 2, conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Garrison and Flag conspired to commit a string of armed robberies that occurred during the crime spree.
  • Count 3, attempted armed robbery. Garrison and Flag attempted to rob a 26-year-old Hispanic man outside his apartment in the 2900 block of South Monterey Court, in Terrytown. This crime happened approximately 5:30 p.m., on Dec. 11, 2015, and was the first of three robbery attempts occurring within a one-hour span. They left this robbery empty handed.
  • Count 4, illegal discharge of a firearm. Flag fired a 9mm semiautomatic pistol at the victim of the attempted robbery in Count 3. The victim was not injured.
  • Count 5, attempted armed robbery. Flag and Garrison attempted to rob a 25-year-old Hispanic man outside his apartment in the 1900 block of Faith Place, in Terrytown. This crime happened approximately 6:05 p.m.
  • Count 6, attempted second-degree murder. Garrison then shot the victim in Count 5. The bullet severed victim’s spinal cord, leaving him wheelchair-bound for the rest of his life. Garrison and Flag obtained nothing of value from this victim.
  • Count 7, armed robbery. Garrison and Flag then robbed a 54-year-old Hispanic man outside his apartment in the 1500 block of Abbey Road in Harvey. That crime happened approximately 6:30 p.m.
  • Count 8, illegal discharge of a firearm. Garrison shot at the victim in Count 7, after the victim attempted to follow the robbers. The victim was not injured but lost more than $400 in cash and his cell phone in the robbery.
  • Count 9, convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Flag was prohibited from possessing guns because of a 2011 conviction of possession of cocaine, for which he was sentenced to four years in prison.
  • Count 10, illegal discharge of a firearm. Garrison and Flag were shooters in a Dec. 9, 2015, drive-by shooting in Marrero’s Acre Road public housing development.

In addition to gathering statements from witnesses, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in part tied Garrison and Flag to the crimes through the numerous spent bullet casings that deputies gathered at seven separate crime scenes. Investigators linked two 9mm semiautomatic pistols to the crimes with help from the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network, or NIBIN, a database maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The jury of six women and six men deliberated two hours in reaching their unanimous verdicts on all counts. Flag and Garrison lashed out in court as the verdicts were announced, cursing and protesting as deputies escorted them out of the courtroom.

Judge John Molaison of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Flag and Garrison on Thursday (Sept. 14).

Second-degree murder carries a sentence of mandatory life in prison, a punishment Flag faces. However, Garrison will be sentenced for the murder at a later date.

Because he was 17 years old at the time he committed the crimes, Judge Molaison must hold a sentencing hearing before deciding whether Garrison could be parole eligible after 25 years of a life sentence. A hearing date was not set.

Assistant District Attorneys Doug Freese and Rachel Africk prosecuted the case.

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Adam Littleton guilty of murder in I-10 death of Jasilas Wright

Adam Littleton, a Mississippi native, was found criminally responsible on Friday (July 28) for the death of a woman who attempted to escape his vehicle after being kidnapped by jumping from his car on Interstate 10 in Metairie.

Littleton, 25, was convicted as charged of second-degree murder in the June 10, 2015, death of Jasilas Wright, 19. According to testimony at trial, Wright met Littleton in connection with her job as a dancer at Bourbon Street nightclubs.

Littleton was prosecuted under the felony-murder doctrine. Shortly before Wright died, she and Littleton got into an altercation in the French Quarter. Littleton roughed up her to get her into his car, and they drove toward Metairie on I-10. As Wright died during the commission of a second-degree kidnapping, Littleton was found to be legally responsible for her death.

The month before her death, Wright went with Littleton and another woman to Texas for prostitution, a decision she regretted after he initially abandoned her there without money, she told family and friends in New Orleans in emotional phone calls, jurors heard this week in testimony.

Wright sought to distance herself from Littleton and the lifestyle, said Assistant District Attorney Kellie Rish, who prosecuted Littleton with Megan Gorman. “Jasilas was on the highway of human trafficking,” Rish told jurors. “She was looking for her exit.”

Shortly before her death, Littleton and Wright argued on Bourbon Street before he forced her into his car to drive her to Texas. Unwilling to go, Wright leapt from Littleton’s car in the I-10 westbound lanes where the interstate crosses over Veterans Memorial Boulevard. Several vehicles struck her and ran over her body numerous times. Many motorists called 911. But Littleton, who witnessed Wright being struck by cars, continued to Texas.

“What does Adam do? Nothing, because he knows he’s to blame,” Rish told jurors. “He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t call police.”

Wright suffered “massive trauma,” her death caused by “multiple blunt-force trauma,” forensic pathologist Dr. Marianne Eserman testified of her autopsy results.

After collecting personal items from the I-10 lanes and shoulders, the Louisiana State Police identified Wright as the victim, according to testimony. The items included Wright’s cell phone, a key piece of evidence, according to State Police.

Littleton spoke with Wright’s family on the phone, telling them that Wright jumped out of his car. He hung up, and they could never contact him again.

With warrants for his arrest issued in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish, Littleton surrendered to police in Shreveport. In addition to the State Police, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the New Orleans Police Department were involved in the investigation.

Littleton faces spending the rest of his life in prison, at hard labor and with no chance of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. Judge Lee Faulkner of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Littleton on Aug. 22.

 

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Marrero man sentenced to life in prison for murdering his boss

A Marrero man who murdered his boss at their Kenner workplace was sentenced on Monday (July 24) to a mandatory life sentence in prison.

John Spears, 52, was convicted last month of the second-degree murder of Anthony Tardo on Dec. 4, 2015.

Tardo, 49, was described as a “generous, most caring person” with a “contagious laugh,” his family said in an impact testimony letter that was read aloud in court during the sentencing hearing. Through his “cowardly” act, Spears robbed Tardo’s wife, their three children and his extended family of a life with him, his family said.

Tardo, of Mandeville, was the supervisor at Houston Marine Training Services in the 2500 block of Williams Boulevard, where Spears was employed as an instructor. He was seated at his desk in his office when Spears appeared in the doorway.

Other employees said they heard Tardo say loudly, “What the f—,” before hearing one gunshot. Tardo was struck in the chest and died within a minute, according to trial testimony.

Spears then calmly told co-workers to call 911. He walked outside to the parking lot, where he unloaded his .40-caliber pistol and remained until Kenner Police Department officers arrived. He later pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity, asserting that mental illness and a related blackout prevented him from distinguishing right from wrong.

A Jefferson Parish jury on June 15 deliberated less than 1 ½ hours in rejecting Spears’ insanity defense, finding him guilty as charged.

Judge June Berry Darensburg of the 24th Judicial District Court handed down the mandatory life sentence.

Assistant District Attorneys Joshua Vanderhooft and Rhonda Goode-Douglas prosecuted the case.

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Haraquon Degruy pleads guilty in deaths of Metairie father and son

A New Orleans woman was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Friday (June 30), for her role in the deaths of a father and son who were killed in their Metairie home.

Haraquon Degruy, 20, pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in admitting her guilt as the getaway driver in the April 22, 2015, crime spree that culminated with deaths of David Pence, 56, and his son Nicolas Pence, 25. Manslaughter’s maximum punishment is 40 years in prison.

Degruy had been charged as a principal to second-degree murder. After discussions with the Pence family, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office agreed to the plea. Beth Pence, who lost her husband and son in the crime, provided victim impact testimony, during which she told the judge, “They were ready to prosecute, but we couldn’t do a trial again. It would have been too much.”

The killer, Dexter Allen, 19, was convicted as charged by a Jefferson Parish jury in October of two counts of second-degree murder. In April, Judge Ray Steib of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Allen to spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Allen also was convicted of 19 counts of simple burglary. Degruy was charged with the same offenses and pleaded guilty to those crimes.

Judge Steib, in accepting the plea agreement, sentenced Degruy to the maximum punishment for manslaughter, 40 years, and to two years for each of the 19 counts of simple burglary. Judge Steib ran the sentences concurrently and ordered that Degruy serve the punishment at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

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

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West Bank trio sentenced to life in prison for Marrero murder, attempted murders

Three West Bank men who were convicted earlier this month of a string of shootings that left a man dead and a 2-year-old boy injured were sentenced on Monday to life sentences in prison.

Kevin Hicks, 28, and Kevias Hicks, 26, who are brothers, and Tommie “Tucker” Molette, 24, were convicted June 2 of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder charges.

They killed Deshon Evans, 20, and wounded his 19-year-old friend on Oct. 8, 2013, when the gunmen went to Evans’ home in the 5900 block of Becker Street in Marrero.

The Hickses and Molette received mandatory life sentences for killing Evans and the maximum 50 years for the attempted murder of the 19-year-old man. Evans’ mother and the surviving victim provided impact testimony in which they said they forgave the Hickses and Molette.

Judge Stephen Enright of the 24th Judicial District Court, who presided over the cases, ran the sentences concurrently. The 50-year sentences will be served without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence, Judge Enright said.

The same jury that convicted the trio of those crimes also found Kevias Hicks guilty of two counts of attempted second-degree murder. Those crimes happened July 13, 2013, at an apartment complex in the 2800 block of Mount Kennedy Drive in Marrero.

A woman and her 2-year-old son were walking outside at the complex when gunmen opened fire. A bullet struck the toddler, who survived.

Judge Enright sentenced Kevias Hicks to 50 years in prison for each of the attempted murders. He ran those two sentences concurrent with each other, and then ran that punishment consecutive to the sentences he gave Kevias Hicks for the Becker Street murder.

Kevin Hicks also was charged with the attempted murders, but the jury acquitted him. In a separate trial, Kedrick “KK” Anderson, 24, of Waggaman, was convicted of two counts of attempted second-degree murder and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

The Mount Kennedy shooting stemmed from an ongoing dispute between the Hickses and the father of the 2-year-old boy.

Assistant District Attorneys Douglas Rushton and Lynn Schiffman prosecuted the case.

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