Tag: gretna police department

A manslaughter, an armed robbery and a battery send Shawn Carter to prison for 75 years

A Jefferson Parish judge on Monday (Aug. 21) sentenced Shawn Carter to 75 years in prison as a 3-time felon, based on his most recent conviction of robbing a Gretna convenience store while armed with a claw hammer.

Carter, 50, of Avondale, has a criminal history that includes beating a man to death using a hammer in 1994.

His most recent conviction occurred on July 26, when a Jefferson Parish jury found Carter guilty as charged of the armed robbery of a business in the 900 block of Lafayette Street.

At about 12:30 a.m., on Feb. 11, 2021, Carter walked into the business and approached the 42-year-old clerk who was seated behind the counter. Wielding a hammer, Carter ordered the clerk to surrender his cell phone and to refrain from activating the panic alarm. Carter then ordered the clerk to open the cash register and threatened to kill him if he did not comply.

After getting the cash, Carter fled with the clerk’s cell phone and three bottles of liquor. The Gretna Police Department linked Carter to the crime, leading to his arrest at his Avondale home by a federal task force.

At the time, Carter was on parole for his 1996 conviction of manslaughter.

That homicide occurred on June 1, 1994, when Carter, then age 20, fatally beat 21-year-old Christian Smith to death in Smith’s home in the 2100 block of Hancock Street in Gretna. Carter was charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for a 40-year sentence. He was paroled in 2014.

On Monday, 24th Judicial District Judge Ray Steib sentenced Carter to 50 years in prison for the armed robbery. Judge Steib then resentenced Carter to 75 years in finding that he is 3-time felon under Louisiana’s habitual offender law. The predicate offenses included the armed robbery, the manslaughter and a conviction of battery of a correctional officer.

Assistant District Attorneys Laura Schneidau and Blaine Moncrief prosecuted the case.

On parole for ’94 homicide, Shawn Carter convicted of robbing Gretna store using a hammer

A Jefferson Parish jury on Wednesday (July 26) found Shawn Carter guilty of robbing a Gretna convenience store while using a hammer.

Carter, 50, of Avondale, is guilty as charged of the armed robbery of the business. At the time he committed this crime, Carter was on parole for killing a man by beating him to death with a hammer.

About 12:30 a.m., on Feb. 11, 2021, Carter walked into the convenience store in the 900 block of Lafayette Street. He immediately approached the 42-year-old clerk who was seated behind the counter.

Wielding the hammer, Carter demanded the clerk hand over his phone and to refrain from activating a panic alarm. He ordered the clerk to open the cash register and threatened to kill the clerk if he didn’t comply.

In opening the register, the clerk dropped the cash drawer. Carter ordered the clerk to pick up the money. The clerk refused, and so Carter grabbed him by the throat and pushed him to the floor.

Carter pocketed the money, and the clerk fled to a stock room and locked the door. Through a window in the door, the clerk observed Carter taking three bottles of liquor and fleeing on Lafayette Street toward the Mississippi River.

In addition to the cash and liquor, Carter stole the clerk’s iPhone. An hour later, Gretna Police Department detectives tracked the stolen phone to a yard in the 600 block of 6th Street, about six blocks away from the crime scene. Carter’s fingerprint later was found on the phone, leading detectives to identify Carter as their suspect.

As he fled into the residential neighborhood after committing the armed robbery, Carter discarded his Atlanta Falcons cap and shirt in the 400 block of 9th Street. Gretna police recovered that evidence using a canine, Max, which tracked Carter’s scent from the crime scene. While canvassing the area for more evidence, officers found the claw hammer in a storm drain in that same block.

The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force located and arrested Carter at his Avondale home on March 3, 2021.

A Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab DNA analyst, meanwhile, found Carter’s genetic material on the cap, shirt and hammer.

On June 1, 1994, Carter used a hammer to beat Christian Smith to death. Smith, 20, was found in his home in the 2100 block of Hancock Street in Gretna. The hammer was still embedded in his skull.

Carter fled with the Smith’s car and his property, including a mobile phone. Indicted for first-degree murder, he pleaded guilty in 1996 to manslaughter and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. He was paroled in 2014.

The jury, which heard evidence about the 1994 homicide, deliberated less than 50 minutes in finding Carter guilty as charged of the armed robbery. Judge Ray Steib of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Carter on Aug. 21.

Assistant District Attorneys Laura Schneidau and Blaine Moncrief prosecuted the case.

Jose Robles Marques guilty of murdering his sister’s boyfriend in Gretna

A Jefferson Parish jury on Thursday (June 22) found Jose Robles Marques guilty of shooting his sister’s boyfriend to death in his Gretna home last year.

Marques, 43, was convicted as charged of the second-degree murder of Jose Salomon Fernandez Barrientos, 42, in a bedroom of his home in 1700 block of Newton Street on March 1, 2022.

Fernandez and Marques’ sister were arguing in their bedroom when Marques approached the doorway with a six-shot .38-caliber revolver and opened fire. Fernandez was sitting on a bed when he was struck by at least five of the bullets. He died on the bed.

At trial, Marques’ defense lawyers argued he was defending his sister, whom he asserted was the victim of a domestic violence act in the past. The lawyers asserted that Marques heard arguing, thought his sister was in danger and shot Fernandez. As such, it was a justifiable homicide, they said.

However, there was no evidence indicating that Marques reasonably believed his sister was in imminent danger, a necessary element of justifiable homicide.

In his statement to Gretna police after the incident, Marques indicated that when he entered the Fernandez’s bedroom, which he shared with Marques’ sister, Marques had already retrieved the firearm and loaded it.  Additionally, Marques stated that he observed the victim and his sister separate prior to his firing the weapon until he ran out of bullets. As such, his shooting Fernandez was neither reasonable nor necessary.

“Being angry, being upset, that’s not justifiable homicide,” Assistant District Attorney Eric Cusimano told jurors Thursday in closing argument.

Jurors deliberated about one hour, 15 minutes before returning with their unanimous verdict at 5 p.m., Thursday. Judge Nancy Miller of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Marques on Wednesday (June 28). Life in prison without parole, probation or suspension of sentence is the mandatory punishment for second-degree murder under Louisiana law.

Assistant District Attorneys Eric Cusimano and Taylor Somerville prosecuted the case.

 

 

Darryl Vinson gets 115-year sentence for brutalizing woman

A Jefferson Parish judge has sentenced Darryl Vinson to 115 years in prison for his conviction of brutalizing and beating a woman he held captive in her Gretna home for three days in 2021.

Vinson, 60, of Marrero, was convicted as charged by a Jefferson Parish jury on May 3 of attempted second-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping, second-degree sexual battery and false imprisonment with a dangerous weapon.

Judge Ray Steib of the 24th Judicial District Court on Thursday (June 15) sentenced Vinson to 50 years for attempted second-degree murder, 40 years for second-degree kidnapping, 15 years for second-degree sexual battery and 10 years for false imprisonment with a dangerous weapon.

Judge Steib ran the sentences consecutively, for a total of 115 years.

The crimes occurred between Jan. 27, 2021 and Jan. 29, 2021, in the 48-year-old woman’s Claire Avenue home.

He hogtied the naked woman, forced her to sleep on the cold tile floor in a closet, made her crawl on all fours when he let her leave the closet, kicked her and inserted the barrel of her pistol into her body. He stabbed her in the forehead and left lacerations from a serrated knife blade just below her neck.

To prevent her from crying aloud, he inserted dirty underwear and socks into her mouth and used duct tape to keep them in place. He forced her to eat cat food and injected methamphetamine into her body. He wouldn’t let her use her phone.

The victim’s injuries included brain bleeding, a fractured eye socket for which she has a titanium plate, fractured ribs, a bruised lung and numerous lacerations and ligature marks on her neck, wrists and ankles. She was hospitalized for 12 days, four of which were spent in an intensive care unit.

The sexual assault nurse examiner who documented the victim’s injuries testified that the case is “one of the most severe that I’ve seen.”

Vinson, who was homeless, met the woman outside a Gretna-area drugstore and befriended her. Their platonic relationship evolved into a romantic one. He moved in with her.

Just days after she had surgery to treat a hernia, on Jan. 27, 2021, the victim accompanied Vinson to his mother’s home in Marrero. Feeling the pain of her surgery, she returned to her Gretna home. Vinson arrived later and began accusing her of having sex with another man – assertions she denied.

The physical abuse began and continued until Jan. 29, 2021. After flashing a pistol at her, Vinson forced the victim to walk to Manhattan Boulevard and the Westbank Expressway in Harvey to panhandle motorists.

Soon after, witnesses began calling 911 to report Vinson beating the victim. In one 911 recording, a caller described the victim as being “black and blue and covered in blood.” Gretna police, which investigated the crimes, found much of her home in disarray, except for the master bedroom that smelled of bleach because of Vinson’s attempt to clean it.

Vinson’s attorney argued that his client and the victim wrangled with substance abuse problems, and that her recollections about what occurred might not be as clear as she now asserts.

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

 

Darryl Vinson convicted of brutalizing, dehumanizing girlfriend in Gretna

A Jefferson Parish jury on Wednesday (May 3) found Darryl Vinson guilty of brutalizing and beating a woman as he held her captive in her Gretna home for three days in 2021.

Vinson, 60, of Marrero, was convicted as charged of attempted second-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping, second-degree sexual battery and false imprisonment with a dangerous weapon. After reaching their verdicts, jurors told the judge they would like to return to court to see Vinson sentenced to prison.

The crimes occurred between Jan. 27, 2021 and Jan. 29, 2021, in the 48-year-old woman’s Claire Avenue home. “Over a three-day period,” the victim was “beaten, bound and brutalized at the merciless hands of this man,” Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Truhe told jurors in opening statements Tuesday.

Vinson hogtied the naked woman, forced her to sleep on the cold tile floor in a closet, made her crawl on all fours when he let her leave the closet, kicked her and inserted the barrel of her pistol into her body. He stabbed her in the forehead and left lacerations from a serrated knife blade just below her neck.

To prevent her from crying aloud, he inserted dirty underwear and socks into her mouth and used duct tape to keep them in place. He forced her to eat cat food and injected methamphetamine into her body. He wouldn’t let her use her phone.

Using a chord, he strangled her at least three times. “She lost consciousness on three occasions,” Assistant District Attorney Tommy Block told jurors in closing argument Wednesday. “She woke up one time, and she thought she was dead.”

The victim’s injuries included brain bleeding, a fractured eye socket for which she has a titanium plate, fractured ribs, a bruised lung and numerous lacerations and ligature marks on her neck, wrists and ankles. She was hospitalized for 12 days, four of which were spent in an intensive care unit.

The sexual assault nurse examiner who documented the victim’s injuries testified that the case is “one of the most severe that I’ve seen.”

Vinson, who was homeless, met the woman outside a Gretna-area drugstore and befriended her. Their platonic relationship evolved into a romantic one. He moved in with her.

Just days after she had surgery to treat a hernia, on Jan. 27, 2021, the victim accompanied Vinson to his mother’s home in Marrero. Feeling the pain of her surgery, she returned to her Gretna home. Vinson arrived later and began accusing her of having sex with another man – assertions she denied.

The physical abuse began and continued until Jan. 29, 2021. After flashing a pistol at her, Vinson forced the victim to walk to Manhattan Boulevard and the Westbank Expressway in Harvey to panhandle motorists.

Soon after, witnesses began calling 911 to report Vinson beating the victim. In one 911 recording, a caller described the victim as being “black and blue and covered in blood.” Gretna police, which investigated the crimes, found much of her home in disarray, except for the master bedroom that smelled of bleach because of Vinson’s attempt to clean it.

Vinson’s attorney argued that his client and the victim wrangled with substance abuse problems, and that her recollections about what occurred might not be as clear as she now asserts.

The jury that was seated on Monday deliberated for about one hour Wednesday before returning with its unanimous verdicts. Judge Ray Steib of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Vinson on June 15.

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

 

 

Steven Tate, 2nd man convicted in Gretna murder, sentenced to life in prison

A Jefferson Parish judge has sentenced Steven Tate to life in prison for his conviction in the shooting death of Ethan Allen, a Marrero man who was killed during a robbery attempt in Gretna.

Tate, 25, of Metairie, was convicted by a unanimous jury on Aug. 10 of second-degree murder. The jury acquitted Tate of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Tate and Leonidas Lowry were accused of conspiring to lure Allen to the 800 block of Gulf Drive on Nov. 29, 2016, planning to rob him. When Allen arrived, Tate shot him. Allen in turn shot Tate multiple times.

Allen, 22, of Marrero, died near the shooting scene. The Gretna Police Department found the wounded Tate outside a nearby house.

Lowry, 22, who lived in the 800 block of Gulf Drive, was convicted as charged of second-degree murder on March 23. Because he was a 16-year-old juvenile at the time of the crime, Lowry was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after serving 25 years.

On Monday (Aug. 29), after denying defense requests for a new trial and post-verdict acquittal, Judge Scott Schlegel of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Tate to life in prison without probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

Assistant District Attorneys Joshua Vanderhooft and Brittany Beckner prosecuted Tate.

Rondell Lasalle sentenced to 35 years for Harvey manslaughter conviction

A Jefferson Parish judge on Thursday (June 30) sentenced Rondell Lasalle to 35 years in prison for his conviction of shooting a man in the back during a fight in a Harvey apartment.

Lasalle, 30, of Marrero, was convicted by a jury on April 6 of manslaughter in the death of James Cole, 27. Lasalle also was found guilty of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

On the night of March 8, 2020, Lasalle and Cole were in an apartment in the 1100 block of Orange Blossom Lane when an argument escalated to a physical altercation. During the fight, Lasalle shot Cole in the back. Cole died the following day.

Shortly after he was shot, Cole told a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy that Lasalle was the shooter. Other people who were in the apartment did not see the fight but heard the ruckus and two gunshots. One witness also saw Lasalle leave the apartment immediately after the gunshots.

Soon after, the Gretna Police Department detained Lasalle after seeing him walking along a drainage canal bank that marks the city’s municipal boundary with Harvey and is two blocks from Orange Blossom Lane.

Lasalle carried a backpack, in which there was a 9mm semiautomatic pistol. A fired casing was jammed in the slide, making the pistol inoperable, according to testimony.

Lasalle asserted self-defense, and his attorneys argued the shooting was accidental. Lasalle testified that during an afternoon of playing video games, he teased Cole about the mother of his children. The friction led to an argument that escalated to a fist fight and culminated with Cole brandishing a pistol, Lasalle testified.

He told jurors that he twisted Cole’s arm behind his back in trying to disarm him, and that’s when the pistol fired. Fearing retribution from Cole’s friends, Lasalle said he picked up the pistol and fled instead of calling 911 and trying to help the dying man.

Both men’s DNA was recovered from the pistol. Lasalle’s DNA was recovered in far greater amounts, suggesting that the pistol was his, according to testimony.

Prosecutors put on rebuttal witnesses to refute Lasalle’s self-defense assertion. Evidence showed that Cole was shot in the back at a distance, meaning the pistol was not mere inches from his back when the trigger was pulled, as Lasalle described in testimony. Also, the trajectory that the bullet followed through Cole’s body further refuted Lasalle’s version of the shooting, according to testimony.

By law, Lasalle was prohibited from possessing firearms because of his criminal history. Jurors heard of a simple burglary conviction and that he was previously convicted of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

For killing Cole, Lasalle stood trial on a charge of second-degree murder. The jury deliberated just over two hours in finding Lasalle guilty of manslaughter, a lesser homicide offense that carries a punishment of up to 40 years in prison.

On Thursday, Judge Michael Mentz of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Lasalle to 35 years for manslaughter and 20 years for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Judge Mentz ran the sentences concurrently.

Assistant District Attorneys Thomas Sanderson and Lynn Schiffman prosecuted the case.

Gretna couple sentenced to decades in prison for molesting three girls

A Gretna couple convicted last month of sexually abusing three juvenile girls has been sentenced to prison.

Elvin Villafranca, 40, and Argentina Mesa, 54, were sentenced Monday (April 16) to 60 years and 35 years, respectively, for their March 20 convictions of abusing the girls in their Newton Street home in 2013 and 2014.

The Gretna Police Department investigation began in November 2014, after detectives learned that a 7-year-old girl was molested while being babysat at the couple’s home. For this victim, Villafranca was convicted of sexual battery of a juvenile under age 13 and received a 25-year prison sentence.

The victim’s mother later asked a relative whether she had contact with Mesa and Villafranca. That victim disclosed she was sexually abused by the couple at age 13, after the couple gave her alcohol to drink during a sleepover, according to evidence presented at trial.

In connection with this second victim, Villafranca was convicted of attempted forcible rape and was sentenced to 10 years, and Mesa was convicted of sexual battery and was sentenced to 10 years.

A third victim came forward saying she, too, was sexually abused at the Newton Street residence when she was 9 years old. For this, Villafranca and Mesa were convicted of sexual battery of a juvenile under age 13 and received a 25-year sentences.

After hearing impact testimony from the mothers of two of the victims and denying post-verdict motions, Judge Stephen Grefer of the 24th Judicial District Court handed down the sentences. He ran them consecutively, citing the fact that the crimes involved three separate victims and that anything less would deprecate the seriousness of the crimes.

Assistant District Attorneys Laura Schneidau and Emily Booth prosecuted the case.

Gretna couple convicted of sexually abusing three juvenile girls

A Gretna couple was convicted Tuesday night (March 20) of molesting three juvenile girls, including a teenager who was given alcohol before she was sexually abused while in a drunken state.

Both Elvin Villafranca, 40, and Argentina Mesa, 54, were convicted of sexual battery counts for the crimes that occurred at their home in 2013 and 2014. Additionally, Villafranca was convicted of the attempted forcible rape of a 13-year-old girl, a responsive verdict, and Mesa was acquitted of being a principal to forcible rape involving the same victim.

“These are three victims, essentially three cases crammed into one case because of a common denominator: Mesa and Villafranca,” Assistant District Attorney Laura Schneidau, who prosecuted with Emily Booth, told jurors in closing argument.

The Gretna Police Department began its investigation in November 2014, after it learned that a 7-year-old girl was molested while being babysat at a Newton Street residence, according to evidence presented during the trial.

That victim’s mother initiated the investigation after seeing a matter of sexual nature on the child’s electronic tablet. Investigators learned that Villafranca inappropriately touched the victim, leading to his conviction of sexual battery of a juvenile under age 13.

The mother of that victim later encountered a juvenile relative, who also had contact with Mesa and Villafranca, leading to the child’s disclosure that in November 2013, when she was 13 years old, she had been sexually abused at the couple’s Newton Street residence.

That second victim asserted that, during a sleepover, she was given alcohol and was not allowed to leave. For that victim, Villafranca was convicted of attempted forcible rape, and Mesa was convicted of sexual battery.

Another victim disclosed that she, too, was abused at the couple’s Newton Street residence when she was 9 years old. For this, Villafranca and Mesa were convicted as charged of sexual battery of a juvenile under age 13 for this offense.

After a six-day trial, the jury deliberated almost six hours Tuesday before returning its verdicts. Judge Stephen Grefer of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Mesa and Villafranca on April 16.

Assistant District Attorneys Laura Schneidau and Emily Booth prosecuted the case.

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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