Tag: jefferson parish sheriff’s office

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.

blue bar 2

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.

blue bar 2

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.

blue bar 2

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.

blue bar 2

Former playground coach pleads guilty to molesting boys, gets 35-year sentence

A former Jefferson Parish playground coach was sentenced to 35 years in prison after he pleaded guilty Thursday morning (March 16) to molesting four boys as young as 9 years old in his Metairie apartments and to taking pornographic photographs of one child.

James L. Prince Jr., 45, known as “Coach Jim” to the youths he mentored at Girard Playground in Metairie, pleaded guilty to forcible rape, four counts of sexual battery of juveniles, four counts of indecent behavior with juveniles and nine counts of production of pornography involving juveniles under age 13.

He also would register as a sex offender for life, should he ever be released from prison. He is not be expected to be released from prison before he is 81 years old.

The plea, to which the victims and their families agreed, spares them the need to testify about the details of the abuse Prince meted out. However, two victims and a mother provided impact testimony on Thursday, telling the judge and Prince about the effects his abuse has had on them.

The crimes were reported on Oct. 15, 2015, by the mother of two of the victims after her sons disclosed the abuse beginning in 2002. Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives learned that Prince met the victims through Girard Playground, where he volunteered as a youth sports coach.

In accepting the plea, Judge Conn Regan of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Prince to 35 years for forcible rape, 35 years for each of the child pornography counts, 10 years for each of the sexual battery counts and seven years for each of the indecent behavior.

The sentences were run concurrently. Prince must serve the sentences at hard labor and without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

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

blue bar 2

 

Mississippi man pleads guilty in brutal human trafficking case

A Mississippi man was sentenced on Wednesday (March 8) to 20 years in prison for his role in a human trafficking case. Pierre Braddy’s guilty plea brings to two the number convictions obtained in connection with the April 2015 crimes, in which a 25-year-old Florida woman was severely beaten and forced into prostitution in Jefferson Parish.

Braddy, 28, of Jackson, pleaded guilty to forcible rape, human trafficking and obstruction of justice, admitting he was one of two Mississippi men to force her into prostitution and keep the money she earned. He entered the pleas late Tuesday afternoon, at the end of the first day of testimony in his trial that began on Monday, when the jury was seated.

The victim appeared in court Wednesday morning to provide impact testimony.

“I just wanted to let you know that I hope when you get out, and I know that you will get out, that you make better choices and that you don’t let someone manipulate or control you and let something like this happen,” she told Braddy. “It was very hurtful. It was very painful. But life goes on. I hope you have a good life.”

Braddy apologized to her. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be a man and stopped what happened,” he told her. He thanked the prosecutors and judge “for giving me a second chance.”

In sentencing Braddy, Judge Nancy Miller of the 24th Judicial District Court called his crimes “horrendous.” Of his victim, Judge Miller told him, “You have traumatized her forever.”

Braddy’s co-defendant, Willard Anthony, 30, of Madison, Miss., was convicted as charged by a Jefferson Parish Jury on Dec. 11, of two counts of aggravated rape, two counts of human trafficking, one count each of second-degree battery, aggravated battery, sexual battery and of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

He forced the Florida victim into prostitution. Judge Miller sentenced Anthony to a mandatory life sentence in prison on Dec. 14.

Anthony initially met the victim at a hotel in Florida in 2015. She had turned to prostitution to earn money to support her drug habit and advertised her illegal services on backpage.com, a website known by law enforcement agencies for its prostitution advertisements, according to evidence presented in his December trial.

When the victim showed up for her “date” at a hotel room, she met Anthony, who was armed with a pistol. She was beaten and passed out, and when she woke, she was in a car driven by Anthony and had other women, all of whom were traveling to New Orleans. Braddy followed them in his parents’ sports utility vehicle.

After obtaining a motel room on Manhattan Boulevard in Harvey, Anthony and Braddy advertised her and other women on backpage.com, according to trial evidence. The victim, after a “date,” attempted to escape with a man who paid her for sex. Anthony pursued them in his car and flashed a pistol on a busy West Bank thoroughfare, leading the man to leave her behind. The victim attempted to get away on foot. Anthony caught her.

As a result, Anthony had other women beat the woman to the point that she lost consciousness, according to trial testimony. Anthony also made the woman lick a drop of her blood from his shoe and announced he would urinate on her if he could.

Braddy stepped in and forced her to drink his urine, and in doing so he orally raped her. Anthony vaginally raped her with the barrel of his pistol, from which her DNA was later recovered, according to trial evidence. To mask her facial injuries, they made her wear makeup they purchased from a nearby big-box store.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Vice Squad encountered the victim while conducting a routine investigation of prostitution on April 13, 2015. The deputies randomly selected an advertisement on backpage.com.

An undercover JPSO deputy acted as a customer and arranged a date with the victim and went to the Harvey motel room. The Vice Squad was unaware of what transpired during the three days prior, when the victim was forced from Florida to Jefferson Parish, according to testimony in Anthony’s trial.

The undercover deputy testified that he saw the victim sitting on a bed. Her eyes were swollen, and she had a laceration above one of them. “When I saw her she was shivering. You could actually hear her teeth chattering,” the deputy testified.

Another woman in the room told him that the victim was not available. He negotiated for sexual services with the second woman, and once the transaction was confirmed, Vice Squad members raided the room.

The undercover deputy immediately drove the beaten victim to a hospital, given the extent of her injuries. “We later found out she was made to wear makeup so she could continue working. She had to make money” for her pimps, he testified.

After she was released from the hospital in the days that followed, she was extradited to Florida, where she had an open attachment.

Anthony was arrested at the motel on April 13, 2015, shortly after Vice Squad members rescued the victim. Braddy escaped in his sports utility vehicle with the pistol Anthony used to rape the victim and the drugs they used. His fleeing with evidence was the underlying act for the obstruction of justice charge. He was later arrested in Mississippi.

Following his prison sentence, Braddy will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Assistant District Attorneys Lindsay Truhe and Doug Freese prosecuted the cases.

blue bar 2

 

 

Metairie man sentenced to life in prison in toddler’s beating death

A Metairie man was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday (March 2) for causing the death of his girlfriend’s toddler, Semaj Batiste.

Troy Kelly, 30, was convicted last month of second-degree murder for the Feb. 20, 2014 death of the 27-month-old boy. His death was caused by blunt-force traumatic injuries inflicted upon the toddler through numerous beatings in their apartment in the 300 block of North Laurel Street.

Forensic pathology evidence presented during the trial shows Semaj died within hours of receiving the injuries that included lacerations to the liver and spleen and broken ribs.

“The one burning question I have is why? What causes a man to beat an innocent child to death?” Semaj’s uncle Gary Bukaske asked in impact testimony. “What could an innocent toddler have done to deserve this treatment?”

Bukaske also said that Kelly will have the blessing of waking every morning still breathing. “Semaj took his last breath in agonizing pain,” he testified.

Life without the benefit of probation, parole or suspended sentence is the mandatory punishment for second-degree murder under Louisiana law. Judge Donnie Rowan of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Kelly after rejecting defense attorneys’ requests for a post-verdict judgment of acquittal and a new trial.

Kelly told the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office that he was bathing Semaj and two of his siblings when Semaj defecated in the tub. In rushing to remove the children from the bath, he said he may have flung Semaj into the toilet.

During the interrogation, Kelly was observed praying and saying to himself, “I’m sorry, Jesus. I’m so sorry.”

Assistant District Attorneys Andrew DeCoste and Lynn Schiffman prosecuted the case.

blue bar 2

Old Jefferson purse snatcher sentenced to 20 years in prison

A Jefferson man with a history of crimes of violence in the Houma area who was convicted this month of a purse snatching that occurred outside an Old Jefferson bar was sentenced on Friday (Feb. 24) to 20 years in prison as a habitual offender.

Eric Fitch, 37, has four felony convictions, three of which were crimes of violence that occurred when he was a Terrebonne Parish resident. There, he was convicted of a theft, tied to a purse snatching in 2013 and an attempted simple robbery in 2010. He also has a simple robbery conviction, for a crime in Lafourche Parish in 2004.

His latest conviction was for a Nov. 28, 2015, incident, in which he assailed a 64-year-old woman just before midnight as she was leaving a bar in the 3500 block of Jefferson Highway. The victim was getting into the passenger’s seat of a car when Fitch approached her asking for a cigarette.

When the woman responded that she did not smoke, Fitch pushed her into the car, grabbed her purse from the floor board and ran. Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies were able locate Fitch by tracking the victim’s cell phone, which was in her purse.

Deputies found Fitch about an hour later. He was hiding in a large trash container behind a grocery store in the 3600 block of Jefferson Highway. He refused to voluntarily leave the container, leading Deputy Daniel Lassus to forcibly remove him. That led to his being charged with resisting arrest.

Deputies recovered the woman’s belongings, and she identified him on the scene as the purse snatcher.

A six-member jury found Fitch guilty as charged of purse snatching on Feb. 15. Judge June Berry Darensburg of the 24th Judicial District Court, found Fitch guilty of the misdemeanor resisting arrest charge on the same day.

On Friday, Judge Darensburg sentenced Fitch to 20 years for the purse snatching, the maximum punishment for that crime, and six months for the resisting arrest. She ran the sentences concurrently.

Fitch then pleaded guilty as charged of being a triple offender. Judge Darensburg vacated the 20-year sentence she gave him for the purse snatching and resentenced him to 20 years on the triple bill.

Fitch will not have the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

The underlying offense for the 2013 theft conviction was a purse snatching. In that case, Fitch grabbed a 55-year-old woman’s purse as she left a business in Houma. Her wallet fell from her purse as he ran. The woman picked up her wallet, but Fitch returned, grabbed it and fled with it, too.

Assistant District Attorneys Josh Vanderhooft and Thomas Sanderson prosecuted the latest case.

blue bar 2

New Orleans man sentenced to life in prison for killing JPSO Sgt. Tracey Marshall

Three days after he was convicted by a Jefferson Parish jury, an eastern New Orleans man was sentenced Tuesday (Feb. 21) to spend the rest of his life in prison for killing his ex-girlfriend, Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Tracey Marshall.

James Darby, 49, will serve the life sentence at hard labor with no benefit of probation, parole or suspended sentence. He executed Sgt. Marshall as she was returning to her Terrytown condominium on Dec. 13, 2015, after a date with another man. She was 47.

Sgt. Marshall ended the couple’s tumultuous 12-year romantic relationship on the month before she died. At the time, she was assigned to the JPSO bailiff squad at the 24th Judicial District Court in Gretna. She was employed by the Sheriff’s Office for about 10 years.

In the weeks before he killed her, Darby stalked her and harassed her with text messages, according to trial evidence. On the night she died, he followed her as she was on a date that included dinner at a St. Charles Avenue restaurant. He followed her to her home, where he fired eight .45-caliber bullets at her as she sat in the driver’s seat of her truck, striking her five times. Her body was found the following morning.

A Jefferson Parish jury on Saturday deliberated less than 40 minutes in finding Darby guilty as charged of second-degree murder. He was returned to Judge Nancy Miller’s courtroom on Monday morning for his sentencing hearing, during which he said nothing to Sgt. Marshall’s parents and friends who were in the audience.

“I want to hate this person. I want to, but I don’t.” – Barbara George White, Sgt. Marshall’s mother

Before sentencing Darby, Judge Miller denied defense requests for a new trial and a post-verdict judgment of acquittal.

Sgt. Marshall’s mother, Barbara George White, provided impact testimony, tearfully recounting the grief she feels. “I want to thank everybody who tried to help her, and every day I can see her,” Mrs. White testified. “She was a good and decent and loving person.”

She said she thinks of her daughter often. “It’s been very difficult,” she testified. “I can hardly sleep. I go to work, and it helps me a little. But when I’m by myself, I see her. I love her. She was a very good and decent person. She didn’t deserve this. She wasn’t playing anybody. She was trying to get away from it. I couldn’t help her, because she didn’t tell me. I failed her in that.”

In handing down the sentence, Judge Miller told Darby that he robbed Mrs. White of her love for her daughter. And to the grieving mother, the judge said, “Ms. White, you did not fail your daughter. You raised her to be the person she was. And she was loved by everybody.”

Mrs. White, in her impact testimony, recalled the last family gathering two months before her daughter was murdered. Her family misses her, she said. “I won’t remember her for this. I will remember her for the person she was. I won’t let this be a label, because she was a really good person. I loved her, and her family loved her.”

Throughout her testimony, she spoke of Darby only in the third person. “I want to hate this person. I want to, but I don’t,” she testified, breaking into sobs.

Assistant District Attorneys Kellie Rish and Megan Gorman prosecuted the case.

blue bar 2

New Orleans man guilty of killing his ex-girlfriend, JPSO Sgt. Tracey Marshall

An eastern New Orleans man was convicted on Saturday (Feb. 18), of killing his ex-girlfriend Tracey Marshall, a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office sergeant whom he stalked before he executed her as she returned to her Terrytown home after a date with another man.

In a five-day trial that highlighted the hidden horrors of domestic violence, James Darby, 49, is guilty as charged of second-degree murder for shooting Sgt. Marshall, 47, while she was off duty. Angered by their break-up and that she was seeing another man, Darby stalked her during the last hours of her life, following her around Uptown New Orleans to her West Bank home in a borrowed car.

In the parking lot outside her condominium in the 2300 block of Ashley Drive, Darby crept up on her before she could get out of her private vehicle as she spoke on her cell phone, leaving her unable to retrieve her pistol. She yelled out “Boy!” before her phone call went dead, as Darby opened fire using a Glock .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol, according evidence presented by Assistant District Attorneys Kellie Rish and Megan Gorman.

“This was personal,” Gorman said in closing argument. “This was an execution. The offender stood right by her window, which was rolled up, fired eight shots standing right next to that vehicle, and hit her five times, in the torso and in the head. This was personal, and this was an execution.”

Rish told jurors that Sgt. Marshall took an oath as a law enforcement officer, understanding that she could lose her life in the line of duty. “The saddest thing about Tracey’s betrayal is that it happened at the hands of the man that she loved,” Rish said.

“The saddest thing about Tracey’s betrayal is that it happened at the hands of the man that she loved.”

At the time of her death, Sgt. Marshall was assigned to the 24th Judicial District Court bailiff squad at the Jefferson Parish courthouse in Gretna. She had been employed by the Sheriff’s Office about 10 years, including assignment at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.

The nine women and three men on the Jefferson Parish jury, which seated Tuesday, deliberated less than 40 minutes. Darby faces a mandatory life sentence in prison. Judge Nancy Miller of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Darby on Feb. 21.

Sgt. Marshall and Darby had been involved in a 12-year but tumultuous romantic relationship that she ended in November 2015, when she moved out of his eastern New Orleans home and into the condominium she owned in Terrytown.

People who knew them told Sheriff’s Office Detectives Gabe Faucetta and Donald Zanotelli that after the break-up, Darby inquired about Sgt. Marshall’s activities, including whether she was with another man. Evidence shows he stalked her and harassed her with text messages during the month before he killed her.

A friend recalled for detectives how she and Sgt. Marshall were on an outing when Sgt. Marshall spotted Darby following them in his car. Sgt. Marshall confided her fear not only that she might lose her job over the harassment, but that Darby might harm her. “He will not let me alone,” Sgt. Marshall told the friend. “He just will not let me go.”

The evidence shows that Darby frequently sent harassing text messages to Sgt. Marshall in the weeks before he killed her, indicating his unrelenting obsession for her. “I just want to tell you I love you and miss the hell out of you,” he told her in a text message on the day before he killed her.

Evidence also shows she had obtained numerous restraining orders against Darby, who in 2011 pleaded guilty to cyberstalking her.

Darby killed her about 9:40 p.m., as she returned to her home from a dinner date. A resident who lived in the adjacent neighborhood called 911 about that time, reporting hearing gunfire. Deputies who responded searched the area but found nothing. Sgt. Marshall’s cell phone went dead at that same time, according to trial evidence.

Another nearby resident later told detectives he heard gunfire and looked out to see a dark color mid-size four-door vehicle being driven at a high rate of speed away from the scene. Detectives later learned that Darby was driving a borrowed mid-size, four-door Nissan.

On the morning following the shooting, a mutual friend of the former couple, who lived in the same complex as Sgt. Marshall, called 911 after seeing the driver’s side window of her 2010 Ford Expedition shattered and hair hanging out that window.

Deputies found Sgt. Marshall slumped against the driver’s door. She was shot in the head, face, arm and back. Deputies also found eight spent .45-caliber bullet casings on the ground outside her vehicle.

Her personal belongings, including her purse, cell phone and pistol, were in her vehicle and undisturbed, indicating that robbery was not a motive in her death.

Darby immediately fled to Tuscaloosa, Ala., after killing her, showing up unannounced at a friend’s home, where he spent the night, and then went to a woman’s home asking to take a bath. He was located in Tuscaloosa two days after the homicide by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Recovery Task Force.

During the interrogation by Faucetta and Zanotelli in Alabama, Darby denied killing Sgt. Marshall. He admitted to stalking her frequently, including on the night of her death.

He asserted he was driving on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans when he “happened upon” her in her SUV. He said he followed her back to the West Bank and parked near her condominium. He admitted he was near her apartment in the borrowed car when she arrived. He also admitted he got out of his car, but he maintained he did not shoot her.

“I stood there, and I wouldn’t go any further,” Darby told the detectives during the videotaped interrogation shown to jurors. This would have happened about the same time Sgt. Marshall was killed, evidence shows. Yet Darby maintained he neither killed her nor saw who did it.

Detectives obtained cellular phone evidence that proved that Darby was stalking Sgt. Marshall. Authorities in Alabama obtained the data from Darby’s cell phone, showing that he used a Google Maps app to search for her Terrytown residence, and for the St. Charles Avenue restaurant in New Orleans where she and her date had dinner hours before she was killed, Faucetta testified.

Other cell phone data showed Darby was at numerous locations around where Sgt. Marshall was with her date in New Orleans in the hours before she was killed, Faucetta testified. Further, Darby’s cell phone data showed he was near Sgt. Marshall’s neighborhood around the time of the homicide.

His text messaging history included his asking his son for “a heater” so he could go hunting, suggesting he was seeking a gun. Deputies have not recovered the pistol that Darby used to kill Sgt. Marshall.

Assistant District Attorneys Kellie Rish and Megan Gorman prosecuted the case.

blue bar 2