Tag: jefferson parish sheriff’s office

Matthew Flugence pleads guilty to first-degree murder of Ahlittia North

Matthew Flugence, the Marrero man accused of killing 6-year-old Ahlittia North before discarding her body in a residential trash can that he rolled to a Harvey curb two years ago, pleaded guilty as charged to first-degree murder on Thursday (March 24), accepting a life sentence in prison in a plea deal that removed the possibility he one day could die by lethal injection.

Flugence, 22, had been charged with first-degree murder, and the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office planned to seek the death penalty. His guilty plea, which removes the death penalty, was negotiated with his public defenders, leading to Thursday’s unscheduled hearing before 24th Judicial District Court Judge Adrian Adams.

“There will always be an Ahlittia-size hole in my heart, in my life,” her mother Lisa North testified during the plea hearing.

The North family agreed to the plea arrangement and was thankful for it, District Attorney Paul Connick Jr. said.

“This outcome gives peace to the Ahilittia’s family, who have been spared the painful experience of reliving the horrible events during the trial,” Connick Jr. said. “Justice has been served.”

Capital cases mandate a high level of scrutiny at the appellate level, meaning the review at higher courts can last for years. This plea ends it. As part of his plea, Flugence agreed to waive his appeal rights and spend the rest of his life in prison with no chance of probation, parole or suspended sentence.

Flugence admitted he abducted North from her mother’s apartment in the 2900 block of Destrehan Avenue in Harvey’s Woodmere subdivision on July 13, 2013.

Her disappearance set off a massive search by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and other agencies that ended three days later, when the child’s body was found wrapped in plastic bags and a blanket. Her remains were discarded in a residential garbage can left along Destrehan Avenue near where her mother lived, “to be picked up as though she was not a human being,” Lisa North testified.

“She died terrified and alone at the hands of an evil monster,” Lisa North testified.

North, who would have turned 9 on March 3, was stabbed twice in the neck and twice in the abdomen.

Flugence, whose uncle was North’s stepfather, emerged as the suspect and was arrested three days after she disappeared. Police found him walking alone on Victory Drive in Westwego. He was carrying a knife, police said at the time.

He confessed, asserting that the child initiated sexual contact behind an apartment building on Destrehan Avenue, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. After the encounter he alleged happened, he told police, he snapped, stabbed her and watched her die.

Lisa North said Flugence “showed no grace or mercy” throughout the ordeal, including his baseless accusations of what he alleged her daughter did. “But far worse than that, he shows no remorse,” she testified.

In connection with the plea arrangement, the District Attorney’s Office also dismissed charges of aggravated rape, unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling, two counts of battery on a corrections officer and resisting arrest by force or violence. The rape charge did not involve Ahlittia.

Flugence’s brother, Russell Flugence, 24, of Marrero, pleaded guilty to a charge of failure to report a certain felony in 2014 and was sentenced to one year in prison. He admitted his brother told him he killed North, but he didn’t report it to police.

Assistant District Attorneys Sunny Funk and Doug Freese prosecuted the cases.

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‘Sovereign citizen’ defendant convicted of Metairie home burglary

A Metairie man who on the eve of his trial declared he’s a sovereign citizen and refused to answer the judge’s questions was convicted Tuesday night (March 22) of burglarizing an elderly widow’s home.

Sean Stock, 28, a tree trimmer, was convicted of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling and possession of stolen things. He broke into the woman’s 47th Street home near South Causeway Boulevard on June 20. The woman asserts someone broke into her home the following day, but Stock was not charged with a second offense.

“I just couldn’t believe someone broke into my property two days in a row,” the woman testified on Tuesday.

The woman said she lost coins, a laptop computer and jewelry that included her engagement ring and the wedding band that belonged to her husband who died on Good Friday 2014.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested Stock on June 23. Stock initially said an acquaintance gave him the stolen items to sell.

He eventually confessed, saying he was familiar with the woman’s home because the woman hired him to remove a tree from the property and he performed various tasks there previously. His court-appointed attorney alleged the confession was false and based on detectives’ intimidation and coercive tactics during the interview with detectives.

During the investigation, the woman said he heard detectives mention the name Sean, she testified. She inquired and when was shown his photograph, she recognized he was the man she previously hired to cut down a tree her property and performed home repairs.

That led to his being questioned. The jury was shown a video of Stock’s interrogation, during which he said he was given the stolen jewelry and an incredulous detective told him, “Come one man, this is not adding up. There’s no judge that’s going to buy this” explanation.

The jury seated on Monday deliberated about 45 minutes in finding that Stock is guilty as charged.

Judge Ellen Shirer Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court set Stock’s sentencing for April 4. Stock faces one to 12 years in prison for the burglary and up to 10 years for possessing stolen things.

On Monday, Judge Kovach sentenced Stock to six months in jail after finding him in contempt of court because he refused to answer her questions. Stock announced before jury selection began that he wanted to act as his own attorney.

The request led to a required hearing during which the judge questioned the defendant about self-representation. During it, Stock refused to answer questions, alluding to his affiliation with the sovereign citizens movement, an anti-government movement whose followers refuse to recognize laws or pay taxes.

Stock raised the affiliation during the past week. Prosecutors also sought a court order barring Stock from raising the issue in front of the jury had he testified, saying he could not have a fair trial “if his defense will be based solely on utterly irrelevant, and frivolous contentions.” Stock did not testify.

Stock has previous convictions of carjacking, for which he was sentenced to five years in prison in 2004, and possession of drug paraphernalia, for which he received a 6-month sentence in 2012.

Assistant District Attorneys Douglas Rushton and Andrew DeCoste prosecuted the case.

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Metairie man sentenced to life plus 57 years in prison for raping young girl

A Metairie man convicted of sexually abusing a girl over a 4-year period beginning when she was 8 years old was sentenced on Wednesday (March 23) to life in prison plus 57 years.

Simon Shokr, 44, was convicted as charged by a Jefferson Parish jury on March 4 of aggravated rape, sexual battery of a victim under age 13 and indecent behavior with a juvenile in connection with the abuse that began in 2008.

Shokr told the girl to say nothing, and she complied until she reached high school, when she told classmates who in turn alerted a teacher and led to an investigation and his arrest by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

The victim, now age 16, recounted in impact testimony on Wednesday of how she resorted to cutting herself to “focus on the pain of my wounds instead of the pain I felt inside” she felt because of the sexual abuse. She said she attempted suicide five times and was hospitalized as a result.

“Today I stand before you to say I am no longer a victim. I am a survivor,” she testified.

The victim’s mother called Shokr “a monster” and hoped he would be “haunted” by his behavior while serving his sentence at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. “You’re an evil sexual predator who preyed on innocent girls,” she told him.  “May you never find peace in your dark soul.”

Shokr, one of 10 inmates in the packed courtroom, said nothing during the sentencing hearing. During his trial, he said he was a businessman who immigrated to the United States from Beirut, Lebanon in 1989.  He denied the rape accusations and said the girl fabricated the accusations because of upheaval in her family.

Judge Stephen Grefer of the 24th Judicial District Court handed down the mandatory life sentence for aggravated rape in Louisiana.  Judge Grefer then sentenced him to 50 years in prison for the sexual battery and seven years in prison for the indecent behavior. Judge Grefer ran the sentences consecutively.

Assistant District Attorneys Rachel Africk and Lynn Schiffman prosecuted the case.

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Recidivist Kenner drug dealer pleads guilty, sentenced to 22 years in prison

Moments after a jury was seated for his trial, a Kenner man agreed to plead guilty as charged on Monday (March 21) to eight narcotics and other offenses in exchange for a 22-year prison sentence.

Charles E. Nelson, 37, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, two counts of possession with intent to distribute hydrocodone, possession with intent to distribute alprazolam, possession of heroin, simple criminal damage to property and resisting arrest.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office narcotics agents booked Nelson on Jan. 11, 2013, after receiving information from a confidential informant that he was selling illegal narcotics in the Fat City area, according to the arrest report. The agent observed Nelson making a hand-to-hand drug sale, followed him and pulled him over for a traffic stop in the 3300 block of Cleary Avenue, according to the report.

Using a drug-sniffing dog, the narcotics agents found a sock in the vehicle’s engine compartment containing crack cocaine, powder cocaine, heroin and hydrocodone, and $613 in small bills inside the vehicle, according to the report.

He was released from the parish jail after posting a $90,000 bond and awaiting trial on charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and hydrocodone and possession of heroin when he was arrested again on Nov. 19, records show.

Narcotics agents had obtained information that Nelson again was selling crack cocaine and were seeking him when they learned he had a bench warrant for his arrest because he failed to show up in court in the pending case, prosecutors said.

The agents found him in the 4900 block of York Street in Metairie, and when they attempted to arrest him, he accelerated his vehicle and struck a Sheriff’s Office vehicle, according to the arrest report. Deputies said he resisted arrest by refusing to get out of his vehicle and then struggling with the officers as they tried to place handcuffs on him, according to the report.

They arrested him after finding crack cocaine, powder cocaine and alprazolam and hydrocodone pills. Prosecutors charged him with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, hydrocodone and alprazolam, in addition to simple criminal damage and resisting arrest.

The court spent the day Monday selecting a jury that was to hear testimony on all of the charges. Just after the panel was sworn in, Nelson agreed to a negotiated plea offer, which 24th Judicial District Court Judge Lee Faulkner accepted.

Additionally, Nelson pleaded guilty as a double offender under the state’s career criminal law, because of a 2003 guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Judge Faulkner ran all of Nelson’s sentences concurrently for a total of 22 years.

The judge also ordered Nelson to pay restitution to the Sheriff’s Office in the amount of $3,007, for the damage he caused when he struck the deputy’s vehicle.

Assistant District Attorneys Sloan Abernathy and Linsday Truhe prosecuted the case.

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Harvey man convicted in crack possession and distribution, gun possession case

A Harvey man has been convicted of being a crack cocaine dealer, in connection with narcotics with a street value of more than $20,000 that police found in his apartment.

Corey Faciane, 40, was convicted Thursday (March 17) as charged of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He faces two years to 30 years in prison for the drug offense and 10 years to 20 years for the gun charge.

Judge Michael Mentz of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Faciane on Tuesday (March 22).

Members of the West Bank Major Crimes Task Force booked Faciane on Feb. 10, 2011, after finding more than 350 grams of crack cocaine and cocaine powder and paraphernalia in his “stash house” apartment at 2201 Manhattan Blvd. The officers also found more than $28,200 in cash in Faciane’s residence.

They additionally found a pistol in the stash house that had been reported stolen in 2010. Faciane was barred from possessing firearms because of his criminal history. At the time of his arrest, he was serving probation for a conviction in New Orleans of illegal narcotics possession.

After his arrest, Faciane confessed to Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Deputy Stephen Arnold that the drugs were his and that he sold drugs.

Unrelated to Faciane’s case, Arnold was shot five times by a suspect on Jan. 26 in New Orleans, while serving a warrant obtained by a federal narcotics task force. Arnold remains hospitalized in critical condition and is unable to speak and was unable to testify in Faciane’s trial this week.

Calling Arnold “an essential witness” in the case, prosecutors successfully convinced the judge to allow them to use testimony the deputy provided in a pretrial hearing in 2011. Prosecutors read aloud to the jury the testimony Arnold gave during that proceeding, including portions in which the deputy was cross-examined by Faciane’s attorney.

The jury also heard a recording of the confession that Faciane gave to Arnold.

The task force began its investigation after receiving information from the confidential informant that Faciane was selling narcotics between two apartments, at 2201 Manhattan Blvd., and 3300 Wall Blvd. The informant then agreed to purchase ½-ounce of crack from Faciane, using $500 in cash whose denominations were recorded beforehand.

Within 72 hours of the buy, Jefferson Parish deputies and Gretna police officers executed search warrants on both apartments. While counting the $28,215 in cash found in a shoe box in the Wall Boulevard apartment, the officers discovered the five $100 bills they gave the confidential informant to purchase crack from Faciane.

The jury deliberated about one hour, 15 minutes. Faciane, who had been free from jail on a $200,000 bond since the day of his arrest, was remanded to the parish jail to await Tuesday’s sentencing hearing.

Assistant District Attorneys Angel Varnado and Rhonda Goode-Douglas prosecuted the case.

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Westwego man sentenced to 15 years in prison in Metairie aggravated burglary

A Westwego man was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday (March 17), for being one of three men posing as construction workers who forced their way into a Metairie home, beat one of the women who resided there and stole their money.

Terry McCall Jr., 29, pleaded guilty as charged to aggravated burglary in connection with the Oct. 14 crime in the 3500 block of Bissonet Drive. The crime carries a sentencing range of one to 30 years in prison.

McCall, who carried a chainsaw, and two cohorts went to the home about 11:20 a.m., asserting they were there to do work. When the woman who answered the door said she needed no work, the men pushed their way inside. They beat and kicked her and stole money.

McCall did not participate in the beating. He went to another room with the woman’s roommate, tried to console her and told her they would not hurt her. A witness to the burglary in progress called 911, leading two suspects to flee from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office responders.

Deputies found McCall hiding under a bed in the house. He later confessed, according to the Sheriff’s Office. At the time, he was on parole through 2018 for a narcotics conviction.

In court Thursday, John Herrin, whose 62-year-old mother was beaten in the attack, called McCall’s actions “reprehensible,” he said in impact testimony. He said his mother suffers from “a host of physical disabilities,” including rotator cuff ailments caused by years of cleaning hotel rooms. As such, he said, his mother couldn’t raise her arms.

“When y’all began to punch her, she couldn’t defend herself,” Herrin testified. “Here you guys come, to take advantage of and beat a sick, disabled woman. That is about as cowardly and lowly as you can get. That’s okay. I know my mother will bounce back.”

McCall, dressed in orange jail clothing and chained to other inmates, apologized to Hemin. “I just like to say I apologize,” he said. “I didn’t lay hands on your mother.”

Hemin directed McCall to apologize to his mother, who sat in the audience with other family members. “If I could take it back, I would take it back,” McCall told her.

The mother responded: “God bless you, baby.”

Judge Stephen Enright of the 24th Judicial District Court, who accepted the negotiated plea agreement, then sentenced McCall to 15 years in prison. Judge Enright said he would “recommend strongly” to the state Department of Corrections that it provide him with any assistance available, including getting a GED and substance abuse treatment.

“It is through the victims’ generosity that you are being afforded that,” Judge Enright told him.

Ronald Bowman, 37, of Marrero, and Allen Narcisse, 37, of Kenner, await their trials. Bowman is charged with aggravated burglary. Narcisse is charged with aggravated burglary, resisting arrest by force or violence and aggravated assault with a motor vehicle on a police officer.

Assistant District Attorney Angad Ghai is prosecuting the cases.

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Terrebonne Parish man pleads guilty as charged to murdering girlfriend on Grand Isle

A Terrebonne Parish man pleaded guilty as charged Tuesday (March 15) to the second-degree murder of his girlfriend, admitting he stabbed her 44 times all over her body during an argument on Grand Isle.

Randy Paul Marcel, 29, of Chauvin, pleaded guilty knowing he would automatically be sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. He admitted he killed his girlfriend of two years, Jennifer Dozier, also of Chauvin, during the June 21, 2014, crime.

Dozier, 34, whose left leg had been amputated because of injuries sustained in an automobile accident, died about 10 p.m. Police found her body near her aluminum crutches in the grassy parking area near the beach at Cypress Lane and Louisiana 1.

Marcel, Dozier, her 2-year-old son and a friend and his cousin were visiting Grand Isle for the weekend when the couple argued over an array of reasons. Marcel knocked her to the ground during an argument over her having his cigarettes.

She got up and was walking to their vehicle, saying she was calling police, when Marcel attacked her with a blue-handle fillet knife he purchased days earlier. Marcel’s cousin and their third friend witnessed the attack, and Dozier’s child also was nearby.

Dozier’s mother, Patricia Killingsworth, testified during the sentencing hearing that she hears her grandson, now 4, cry every night for his mother.

”I cannot begin to tell anyone the heartache and the pain that I suffer every night, every day without her,” Killingsworth testified. “She was far from perfect, but she was mine. She was my daughter.”

Marcel wept quietly during the sentencing hearing but said nothing to the members of Dozier’s family that traveled to the Jefferson Parish Courthouse in Gretna from Terrebonne Parish to witness the sentencing.

Dozier suffered 10 stab wounds to her head, two of which punctured her brain; 24 wounds to her trunk; five to her neck; and three defensive wounds on her hands, among other injuries. She received at least one stab wound after she died, according to the Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office.

Marcel ran after the attack. A nearby resident saw the police searching the area and noticed Marcel hiding in tall grass near the end of Cypress Lane. The resident alerted police, leading to Marcel’s arrest. Marcel gave detectives three statements, initially saying he blacked out and remembered nothing. He finally confessed, but he recalled only stabbing Dozier twice in self-defense, he told Sgt. Travis Eserman, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detective who led the investigation.

Marcel, who has been jailed since his arrest, was to stand trial this week for second-degree murder. He sat in 24th Judicial District Court Judge Lee Faulkner’s courtroom dressed for trial, but entered the guilty plea before the first panel of prospective jurors was escorted to court.

Judge Faulkner then agreed to postpone the sentencing for several hours, to give Dozier’s family time to travel from Terrebonne Parish.

Dozier, a native of Laurel, Miss., left three children behind. She dated Marcel about two years, but he fathered none of her children. Last year, her brother, Adam Dozier, was held in contempt of court and fined $100 for punching Marcel in the face as he was escorted into the courtroom for a pretrial hearing.

“I’ve tried to be strong through this for my other children,” Killingsworth testified. “To them I apologize, because I haven’t been there for them. Because I was trying to grieve for my daughter. My life will never, ever be the same, and understand that. I’m just trying to move on.”

The last time a Jefferson Parish defendant pleaded guilty as charged second-degree murder was in 2011, when Mark Sonnier, stopped his trial just after a prosecutor finished her opening statements during his trial.

Sonnier admitted he killed a Metairie man with a brass lap in the man’s home during a home invasion. In pleading guilty, Sonnier told the court he pleaded guilty as charged to spare the victims’ families of having to sit through the trial. Faulkner presided over that case, too.

Assistant District Attorneys Kellie Rish and Molly Massey prosecuted the case.

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Convicted child rapist sentenced to two life terms in prison

A Harvey man was sentenced to two life sentences plus 45 years in prison on Thursday (March 10), for his conviction of raping and sexually abusing a girl over a two-year period, beginning when she was 11 years old.

Clifton Raye, 48, was convicted as charged on March 1 of two counts of aggravated rape, two counts of sexual battery and one count of oral sexual battery.

The abuse occurred over a two-year period beginning in 2010 and were disclosed in 2013, when the child was 13 years old. He performed sexual acts on the child and had her do the same to him, according to trial testimony.

The state Department of Child and Family Services initiated the investigation after receiving an anonymous report, according to trial testimony. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office continued the investigation, leading to Raye’s arrest.

Raye had been incarcerated awaiting his trial since his 2013 arrest in lieu of a $1.15 million bond. He waived a trial by jury, leading it to Judge Lee Faulkner of the 24th Judicial District Court to weigh the evidence during the daylong trial.

In announcing his verdicts, Judge Faulkner said he found the victim’s testimony to be “credible,” and Raye’s assertions to be “incredible.”

On Thursday, Judge Faulkner sentenced Raye to two mandatory life sentences for the aggravated rapes, 25 years for one count of sexual battery, 10 years for the second sexual battery count and 10 years for the oral sexual battery. He ran the sentences concurrently.

Raye denied the charges and testified that the girl’s accusations were “coerced.” He said nothing during the sentencing hearing.

Assistant District Attorney David Wheeler and Rachel Africk prosecuted the case.

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Metairie man convicted of raping young girl, faces life in prison

A Metairie man was convicted Friday night (March 4) of sexually abusing a girl over a 4-year period, starting when she was 8 years old.

Simon Shokr, 44, faces a mandatory life sentence in prison for his conviction of aggravated rape, sexual battery and indecent behavior with a juvenile.

The jury deliberated about 1 ½ hours before delivering its verdict at 11:35 p.m., ending the 3-day trial. Judge Stephen Grefer of the 24th Judicial District Court set sentencing for March 23.

The victim, who is now 16, is not being identified. The abuse began in 2008, when she was a student at a Metairie elementary school. Shokr, who was acquainted the child’s family, abused the girl without her mother’s knowledge, telling the child to tell no one.

“She didn’t tell for a very long time,” Assistant District Attorney Rachel Africk, who prosecuted with Assistant District Attorney Lynn Schiffman, told the Jefferson Parish jury in opening statements on Thursday.

An assistant principal at her elementary school described the girl as “one of our go-to students,” saying she was “very respectful” to teachers and was assigned to the safety patrol to help younger students.

“At a point in the fifth grade, there was a drastic change in her behavior and demeanor,” the assistant principal testified. “She went from a go-to student to a student who had to be disciplined. She had never been disciplined before. … It was a life change. It was drastic. It was huge.”

The child would not talk about what led to her behavioral changes, so the assistant principal said she alerted teachers to watch for her to determine whether she was bullied. The assistant principal also said she contacted the child’s mother, asking her to be vigilant in watching her.

The girl remained quiet about the abuse until she reached high school, where she disclosed it to two classmates, prosecutors said. Those students told a teacher, who had a mandatory obligation to report the allegation. That led to the investigation by the state and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Shokr, a businessman and native of Beirut, Lebanon who immigrated to the United States in 1989, denied the accusations. He asserted the girl fabricated the story because of upheaval in her family.

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Jacoby Maize convicted of murder, arson, gun charges and brutalizing his wife

Jacoby Maize was convicted Friday (March 4) of repeatedly brutalizing his wife and of fatally shooting an acquaintance in his Old Jefferson home on the day after Easter Sunday in 2011, then returning to the crime scene the following day to set the house on fire.

Maize, 38, of Kenner, faces a mandatory life sentence in prison for the most serious of his seven charges: The April 25, 2011 second-degree murder of Justin Hendricks Jr., 34, who was shot and bled to death in his home in the 100 block of Maine Street.

The shooting happened after Hendricks anonymously called 911 to report that Maize pistol-whipped his wife in the Maine Street house. Maize shot him once in the hip, the bullet severing a femoral artery before exiting his body.

The jury also found Maize guilty of aggravated arson, for dousing Hendrick’s house with gasoline the day after the killing and igniting it in an attempt to destroy evidence. Expert testimony indicated that Maize’s fire endangered the lives of the residents in a neighboring house.

Maize additionally was convicted of aggravated second-degree battery, witness intimidation and aggravated assault with a firearm, all of which involved his wife.

The jury heard testimony about Maize shooting at her, pistol-whipping her, slicing her left cheek with a knife and ordering her to “kiss the ground” before beating her with a baseball bat. He threatened to kill her family if she told anyone he shot Hendricks.

Maize is “nothing but a low and cowardly abuser of women,” Assistant District Attorney Doug Freese, who prosecuted the case with Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Truhe, told jurors in opening statements.

Additionally, Maize was found guilty of two counts of convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Because of his criminal history, Maize was barred from having guns and yet used one to beat his wife and to shoot Hendricks, prosecutors said. In testimony Friday, Maize indirectly admitted he possessed a Glock pistol “every day” during the period Hendricks was killed, in denying he had the gun used in the homicide.

The jury deliberated just over an hour in finding Maize guilty as charged of all seven counts. He showed no reaction. Judge Henry Sullivan of the 24th Judicial District Court will hand down the punishment March 28.

Maize denied all but the firearm possession charges. He accused his wife of killing Hendricks. He assailed the myriad witnesses who testified against him, including the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives who investigated and arrested him, Rhonda Goff and Sgt. Eddie Klein.

“All of your witnesses are liars, proven liars,” Maize told Freese during the cross-examination. “I’m like, you brought a bunch of liars.”

The jury also heard testimony from a Jefferson Parish man who said Maize shot him for no reason other than that he said hello to his wife on the morning of Easter Sunday 2011. That shooting happened at Tchoupitoulas and Upperline streets in Uptown New Orleans, when Maize, his wife, the man and two others were driving in Maize’s vehicle.

The man was able to get out of Maize’s vehicle and run. He said he was struck by three bullets before a he ran into the path of a truck that struck him, breaking one of his leg bones.

Maize’s wife, who was sleeping in their vehicle when her husband shot the man, testified she endured daily abuse but never called police or left the relationship.

“I wanted to be loved,” she testified. “I thought that was love. I thought I could get no better. I thought I found someone who wanted me and held my hand. So I stayed.”

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