Tag: jefferson parish sheriff’s office

Metairie man pleads guilty to possession of child pornography

A Metairie man averted his trial for possession of child pornography involving children under age 13 on Monday (April 4), by pleading guilty as charged in exchange for a five-year prison sentence.

William Shiell, 49, also will have to register as a sex offender for 25 years beginning with his release from prison, Judge Ellen Shirer Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court ordered in accepting the guilty plea.

Shiell had been free from jail since posting a $15,000 bond on the day after his May 24, 2012 arrest by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. The judge allowed Shiell to huddle with his tearful family in the courtroom before he was fingerprinted and taken away in handcuffs to begin his prison sentence.

Sheriff’s Office Detective Nick Vega, working with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, was investigating an online peer-to-peer sharing website where child pornography is known to be shared, authorities said. The detective tracked illegal activities to Shiell’s home computer, where he found videos and images of prepubescent boys and girls engaged in sexual acts.

Shiell was scheduled to stand trial this week when he opted to plead guilty in exchange for the least amount of prison time the law allows for the crime. At the time of his arrest, possession of child pornography involving children under age 13 carried a punishment of five years to 20 years in prison.

Just months later, in August 2012, Louisiana doubled its punishment for possession of child pornography involving children under age 13 to 10 years to 40 years in prison.

The Internet Crimes Against Children program is funded by the U.S. Justice Department and involves local, state and federal law enforcement agencies working in 61 task forces nationwide that root out child predators on the Internet.

Assistant District Attorney Douglas Rushton prosecuted the case.

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‘Sovereign citizen’ burglar sentenced to 10 years in prison

A man already serving a six-month jail term for refusing to answer a judge’s questions during his trial last month was sentenced Monday (April 4) to 10 years in prison for burglarizing a Metairie widow’s home and then was caught the same day with her stolen jewelry.

Sean Stock, who turned 29 years old on Monday, was convicted of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling and possession of stolen things on March 23. Among the items he stole was the engagement ring and wedding band that belonged to her husband, who died on Good Friday of 2014, according to trial testimony.

Stock broke into the woman’s home on 47th Street near South Causeway Boulevard during the weekend of June 20, 2015.

Stock was familiar with the home because he previously was hired to perform odd jobs there, including removing a tree, according to testimony. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office focused on him as a suspect after the homeowner overheard deputies mention Stock’s name and she recalled having hired him to do the work, she testified.

After rejecting two requests to toss out the verdicts and hearing a lengthy and emotional defense plea for lenience for the father of a 4-year-old boy, Judge Ellen Shirer Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Stock to 10 years on each count. She ran the sentences concurrently.

As his trial was beginning, Stock, who had a public defender appointed to his case, announced he wanted to act has his own attorney in disclosing an affiliation with the sovereign citizens movement, whose members refuse to recognize laws or pay taxes.

As the judge questioned him in connection with his request, Stock responded only that he was the attorney for his own corporation, an assertion indicative of the sovereign citizens movement. His non-responsiveness led Judge Kovach to find him in contempt of court and sentence him a six-month jail term.

Just before she announced her sentence for the convictions on Monday, Stock apologized for his courtroom disturbance. “I look back,” he said. “I was rude. I do want to apologize for that.”

Judge Kovach said she planned to run the 6-month jail term consecutively to the sentencings but opted to run it concurrently in light of his apology.

Stock’s punishment could be increased because of his 2004 conviction of carjacking, for which he was sentenced to five years in prison. Prosecutors are seeking a sentencing enhancement under Louisiana’s habitual offender law, meaning his sentence for the burglary could increase to 24 years.

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

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Jacoby Maize sentenced to life plus 55 years for murder, arson and other crimes

Convicted killer Jacoby Maize was sentenced on Monday (March 28) to life in prison plus 55 years, for shooting Justin Hendricks Jr. in his Old Jefferson home on the day after Easter Sunday 2011 and for six other crimes.

Maize, 38, of Kenner, was convicted of second-degree murder in the April 25, 2011 homicide inside Hendricks’ home in the 100 block of Maine Street. Firefighters found the body the following day when extinguishing the fire Maize set to conceal evidence of his crime.

“For five years, I have waited for this day,” his father, Dr. Justin Hendricks Sr. testified. “The Lord has answered my prayers. For five years I’ve waited to lay eyes on my son’s murderer: You. I have finally gotten justice.”

Hendricks anonymously called 911 after witnessing Maize pistol whipping his wife in his home. Maize returned to the house later and shot Hendricks once in the hip, leaving him to bleed to death.

Dr. Hendricks said his son “did the unthinkable” by calling 911, in that others did not stand up to Maize. “Did he think his life was in peril? Yes,” Dr. Hendricks testified. “But he did it anyway.”

During his trial, Maize accused his wife of being the killer and the arsonist. He asserted that Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives, his wife and other witnesses falsely accused him of committing the seven crimes for which he stood trial.

During Monday’s sentencing hearing, Dr. Hendricks, who attended the trial, noted Maize’s defense assertions in calling him “a liar” and “a coward.” Maize chuckled and continued smiling as the grieving father wept in the witness seat.

A Jefferson Parish jury on March 4 convicted Maize as charged of the murder, aggravated arson, two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, aggravated second-degree battery, witness intimidation and aggravated assault.

The aggravated second-degree battery, aggravated assault and witness intimidation involve Maize’s wife, whom he shot at, beat and threatened if she told anyone that he killed Hendricks, according to trial testimony.

After rejecting Maize’s attorneys’ request for a new trial on Monday, Judge Henry Sullivan of the 24th Judicial District Court handed down the mandatory life sentence for Hendricks’ death.

Judge Sullivan sentenced Maize to 15 years for the aggravated second-degree battery, 20 years for each of the firearm charges, 40 years for witness intimidation, 20 years for aggravated arson and 10 years for aggravated assault.

The judge ran some of the sentences consecutively to one-another, with the end result being 55 years on top of life in prison.

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

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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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