Tag: jefferson parish sheriff’s office

Week roundup: Carlton Waller pleads guilty in roommate’s attack; Eder Vasquez convicted of possessing child pornography

Two criminal cases that went to trial this week have been resolved, including one that ended with a guilty plea after the defendant heard his victim testify and the other by the verdict of a Jefferson Parish jury.

AGGRAVATED SECOND-DEGREE BATTERY

Just after his victim testified against him on Monday (April 1), Carlton Waller, 31, pleaded guilty as charged to the aggravated second-degree battery. Judge Donnie Rowan of the 24th Judicial District Court then sentenced Waller to 14 years in prison.

Waller attacked his 48-year-old roommate on Jan. 24, 2022, inside the apartment they shared in the 6600 block of Merle Street in Metairie.

The roommate loaned Waller his AirPods. Waller later returned a different set of AirPods, leading to an argument that escalated to violence. After strangling his roommate, Waller slammed the victim onto the floor and began kicking him in the head and body.

Then, Waller brandished a pistol and began striking his roommate with it, including the face and mouth. Waller pointed the pistol at his roommate’s head and threatened to kill him.

Another roommate drove the victim to the hospital for treatment. In addition to having his left arm broken, the roommate received five staples to close the laceration on the right side of his head.

As part of the sentence, Waller is to have no contact with the victim for 20 years and had to relinquish his firearms.

Assistant District Attorney Taylor Somerville prosecuted the case.

POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Eder Vasquez, 41, was convicted as charged Wednesday (April 2) of two counts of possession of pornography depicting children under age 13.

The investigation began in May 2020, when the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation’s Cyber Crime Unit received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The case was passed to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office after the origin was traced to an apartment in the 100 block of Raspberry Street in Metairie.

Investigators tracked the images to an “Eder Basquez.” The Sheriff’s Office determined that Eder Basquez is, in fact, Eder Vasquez, and he had received illegal images through WhatsApp.

Investigators found thousands of photographs and videos of a sexual nature on Vasquez’s cell phone, most of which depicted youths whose exact age ranges were difficult to discern. Jurors were shown nine photographs and three videos depicting children who clearly were under the age of 13.

After he was arrested, Vasquez said he was communicating with strangers on WhatsApp and said that he had received and viewed illegal pornographic videos and images. At trial, his attorney argued, among other defenses, that Vasquez mistakenly clicked on links saying “funny jokes” that instead showed pornographic images.

The jury deliberated less than an hour before returning with its unanimous verdicts. Judge June Berry Darensburg of the 24th Judicial District Court set sentencing for May 1.

Assistant District Attorneys Kristen Landrieu and Rachel Warren prosecuted the case.

Anthony Morgan sentenced to life in Airline Drive murder

A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (Feb. 26) sentenced Anthony Morgan to spend the rest of his life in prison for opening fire on a rival on Airline Drive in Metairie, fatally wounding him as he sat in the driver’s seat of his car.

Armed with an assault-style rifle, Morgan, 42, of Metairie, fired numerous bullets at Aaron Lee on the night of April 25, 2022, while Lee waited at a traffic light at Airline and Turnbull drives. Four bullets struck Lee, including a head wound that ended the 44-year-old Metairie resident’s life in a hospital three days later.

For that, a jury found Morgan guilty as charged of second-degree murder on Dec. 5.

Click here to read about the trial.

In victim-impact testimony presented during the sentencing hearing, members of Lee’s family described him a joyful man of faith. “My dad once again won’t see me cross the stage in a cap and gown,” wrote one of his daughters, who was a high school athlete when he was murdered and is now a 19-year-old college student.

His youngest daughter noted they were somewhat estranged. “It tears me apart that my daddy left this earth thinking his youngest daughter never wanted to see him again,” she wrote.

His mother described the anger, sadness and depression she has experienced as a result of her oldest son’s death. She referred to him as her best friend. Morgan “took that away from me, and I’ll never be the same,” she wrote.

Directing his comments to Lee’s family and friends in the courtroom, Morgan expressed his sorrow for what happened, calling it “a sad situation” and insisting he was defending himself when he shot Lee. He then bemoaned his going to prison for life: “I’m sorry for what y’all going through. My family lost me, too.”

After denying post-verdict defense motions, Judge June Berry Darensburg of the 24th Judicial District Court expressed condolences for Lee’s family. She noted that Morgan initially denied involvement. Morgan then asserted self-defense.

“You continue to make excuses today,” Judge Darensburg told Morgan. “I think what you said to the family was disrespectful.”

She sentenced Morgan to mandatory life in prison without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

In addition to the murder count, jurors found Morgan guilty of three counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of obstruction of justice.

Judge Darensburg sentenced Morgan to 20 years for each of the firearm counts and 40 years for each of the obstruction counts – the maximum on all. She ran the sentences concurrently.

Assistant District Attorneys Kristen Landrieu and Brendan Bowen prosecuted the case.

 

Tyrone Constant sentenced to 50 years in Harvey pizza business attack

A Jefferson Parish judge has sentenced Tyrone Constant to 50 years in prison for his conviction of brutally attacking a 20-year-old employee of a West Bank pizza business with a machete-type knife.

A Jefferson Parish jury on Feb. 5 found Constant, 40, of Harvey, guilty as charged of attempted second-degree murder for the May 23, 2020 attack inside the business in the 1600 block of Gretna Boulevard in Harvey.

Click here to read about the trial.

The victim knew Constant by his first name from his visits to the business. She did nothing to provoke the attack.

In victim-impact testimony on Feb. 21, the victim’s mother said that “the aftermath of this entire ordeal is far worse,” citing the 16 surgeries, more than 200 doctors’ appointments and 300 physical and occupational surgeries she has endured – in addition to the emotional trauma.

Constant “left her broken, insecure, literally scarred and scared to live a life outside of her home,” the mother said. “And for the record, she doesn’t feel completely safe there, either. (Constant) not only shattered bones, (he) also shattered her peace and dreams. She no longer looks forward to her future. To say the least, it has dimmed her light. She no longer shines as bright as she did before the attack.”

After denying defense requests for post-verdict motions for a new trial and acquittal, Judge Jacqueline Maloney of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Constant to the maximum 50 years for attempted second-degree murder.

She additionally sentenced Constant to two 6-month sentences in finding him in contempt of court for two courtroom outbursts – one during the trial and one during Friday’s sentencing hearing. Judge Maloney ran the sentences consecutively, for a total of 51 years.

Assistant District Attorneys Kristen Landrieu and Ashton Robinson prosecuted the case.

Paul J. Beebe Jr. convicted of raping 59-year-old Metairie woman

A Jefferson Parish jury on Wednesday (Feb. 12) found Paul J. Beebe Jr. guilty of raping a woman in a Metairie apartment.

Beebe, 65, of St. Rose, was convicted as charged of the first-degree rape of the diminutive 59-year-old woman on May 13, 2023.

The victim, a friend of Beebe’s brother, was at the brother’s apartment in the 6300 block of Riverside Drive on the night before she was raped. Beebe was there, too, and became so intoxicated that he passed out and slept on the living room floor where he fell. The following morning, he groped the victim as she slept on a recliner.

After his brother left for work, his behavior escalated. “I got you now,” he told the victim. He beat and dragged the victim across the floor to the bedroom, where he strangled and raped her. Afterward, he fell asleep while sitting at the kitchen table. Suffering with abrasions and other injuries to her face, wrist, back and hip and cloaked only with a bed sheet, the victim fled.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office was notified. Swabs collected during the victim’s sexual assault examination revealed the presence of Beebe’s DNA. At trial, Beebe suggested alternatively that the victim consented to sexual activity, but also that he was unable to complete a sexual act.

The jury that was seated Monday deliberated about 2 ½ hours Wednesday in finding Beebe guilty as charged.

Judge Shayna Beevers Morvant of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Beebe on Tuesday (Feb. 18).

Assistant District Attorneys Brendan Bowen and Lindsay Truhe prosecuted the case.

Tyrone Constant guilty of attempted murder of Harvey pizza business employee

A Jefferson Parish jury deliberated 25 minutes on Wednesday (Feb. 5) in finding Tyrone Constant guilty of trying to kill a 20-year-old employee of a West Bank pizza business by brutally attacking her with a machete-type knife.

Constant, 40, of Harvey, was convicted as charged of attempted second-degree murder in connection with the May 23, 2020 attack inside a business in the 1600 block of Gretna Boulevard.

The victim and her 52-year-old co-worker were the only employees working on that Saturday night during Memorial Day weekend. Constant had been in the business numerous times before. Both employees working that night were familiar with Constant by his first name, Tyrone.

Wearing a mask because of the COVID-19 pandemic and his head partially covered by a hoodie and cap, Constant walked in from the rain about 9 p.m. and asked the victim about whether the business was hiring. He placed the backpack he carried on the sales counter in front of him. He and the victim chatted.

Within two minutes of arriving and without provocation, Constant pulled a knife out of his backpack, jumped over the counter and chased both employees.

They fled out the rear door. The 52-year-old woman ran to a neighboring business to call 911, glancing back to see Constant hacking her coworker amid her screams. When the screaming stopped, she testified she thought the victim had died.

The victim played dead on the ground outside. After Constant fled, she returned to the inside of the business and eventually collapsed. Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies found her in a pool of her blood and suffering from extensive injuries. Gashes to her head suggested he had the intent to kill her. The victim eventually underwent 15 surgeries and years of physical therapy.

Detectives started the investigation with only the first name of the perpetrator based off the victim and witness’s statements. Detectives quickly received an anonymous tip about a possible suspect with the first name “Tyrone”. A photographic line-up was shown to the victim including that man. The victim did not recognize any of the photographs.

The following day, the victim’s co-worker contacted the Sheriff’s Office, providing detectives with Constant’s full name. The detectives later returned to the victim with a second photographic lineup, this one including Constant’s photograph. She immediately pointed out Constant.

The co-worker, when shown a lineup, selected Constant and said she was “100-percent certain” that he was the attacker.

On May 27, 2020, at about 1:15 a.m., a deputy patrolling Harvey spotted Constant in a convenience store in the 1600 block of Lapalco Boulevard. The deputy recognized Constant from a wanted bulletin associated with the attack and arrested him. The weapon Constant used has not been recovered.

Jurors also heard testimony about Constant previously having been fired from a pizza restaurant nearby. He had returned to his former workplace at a later date, drew a knife, and was forcibly removed by three employees.

At trial, Constant’s defense attorney challenged the veracity of the victim’s and coworker’s identifying his client as the perpetrator. He further assailed the Sheriff’s Office for failing to try to get fingerprints from the business to confirm the identity of the perpetrator.

Constant was tried in absentia because he refused to leave his cell at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.

Judge Jacqueline Maloney of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Constant on Feb. 21.

Assistant District Attorneys Kristen Landrieu and Ashton Robinson prosecuted the case.

 

Convicted of killing teen at a Marrero playground, Elijah Augustus and Trenton Tatum sentenced to life in prison

A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (Feb. 5), sentenced two Harvey men to spend the rest of their lives in prison for their convictions of luring a teenager to a public playground in Marrero with claims of selling him a gun but instead shooting him to death while trying to rob him.

Elijah Augustus, 23, and Trenton Tatum, 33, were convicted as charged last month of the second-degree murder of 19-year-old Hassan Veal, who died at Pard Playground on the night of Aug. 5, 2021. They additionally were convicted of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

A third defendant, Tyron Edwards, 23, of Harvey, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and conspiracy to commit armed robbery on Sept. 10, 2024. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Evidence shows that Edwards, who is Tatum’s nephew, fired one shot but did not shoot at Veal.

“They stole an innocent man’s life away from him and from his family for no good reason at all,” Assistant District Attorney Leo Aaron told jurors in closing argument on Jan. 10. “They took from him everything he was and everything he will ever be.”

On Wednesday, Augustus and Tatum were returned to 24th Judicial District Judge Michael Mentz’s courtroom to be sentenced. Veal’s mother, sister, aunt, cousin and high school history teacher each provided victim-impact testimony.

They described Veal as “a bright light” in their lives, who in younger years portrayed Jesus and a king during Christmas pageants at their church, who attended college studying to become an engineer and who encouraged his elderly grandmother to open a Facebook account “so she could stay in touch with the world.” Now, the family can only visit his grave and dwell on “what could have been,” they testified.

Responding to reports of gunfire on the night of Aug. 5, 2021, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies found Veal about 10:30 p.m., lying near the concrete drainage canal bank next to Pard Playground. He had been shot nine times, including once in the face, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Just over three hours earlier, Veal electronically sent $666 to Augustus via Cash App as payment for a gun. That night, Veal and his girlfriend drove to the playground, expecting to meet Augustus to get the gun.

Edwards, Augustus and Tatum arrived at Pard earlier to await Veal’s arrival. After he arrived, Veal approached Edwards, who sat in his car. Tatum and Augustus emerged from hiding with guns drawn and demanded money from Veal.

Veal told the gunmen that he had no money. His girlfriend sat in his car nearby as the robbery unfolded. Armed with an assault-style pistol, Tatum, wearing a mask, confronted the girlfriend and ordered her to turn over money.

Veal called out that she had nothing. He tried to flee but could not escape. Moments later, the gunmen opened fire on Veal.

The incident was recorded by a nearby residential security system, showing the muzzle flashes, beginning from the one Edwards fired as he stepped out of his car and those Tatum and Augustus fired.

Tatum “for no reason, completely unprovoked, unloads 26 rounds at Hassan Veal. A bright constant muzzle flash from a semi-automatic rifle, bullet after bullet at an unarmed 19-year-old begging for his life,” Assistant DA Aaron told jurors last month, describing the surveillance video recording.

Veal’s girlfriend fled in his car but returned after the gunmen sped away and remained until deputies arrived.

In all, thirty-one bullet casings, fired by three firearms, were recovered at the murder scene. Twenty-six of those bullets were .223-caliber and 5.56 mm, all fired from the same weapon – Tatum’s. Deputies also found an iPhone, which the Sheriff’s Office Digital Forensic Unit determined belonged to Edwards. He dropped it during the crime. It led to his arrest.

The Digital Forensic Unit found text messages on Edwards’ phone showing that he was communicating with Augustus, including a message saying “Y’all seen that car,” a message coinciding with the timing of Veal’s arrival at the playground.

As the investigation unfolded, detectives arrested Augustus. The Digital Forensic Unit found that Augustus had been in contact with Veal seven times during the day of the murder. The last call between Augustus and Veal was at 10:24 p.m., three minutes before the first of six 911 calls reporting gunfire was made.

Augustus also was in contact with Tatum, who days before the murder discussed setting up “a lick,” or an armed robbery. They had a similar exchange on the day of the murder, in which Tatum asked Augustus about setting up a robbery. Augustus replied that he had something in mind – Veal.

The Sheriff’s Office further confirmed through Cash App that Veal transferred $666 to Augustus 3 ½ hours before the homicide. The detectives also gathered evidence through Augustus’ cell phone location services showing he was at the playground during the murder.

On Aug. 11, 2021, Tatum was located and arrested at a motel in the 5300 block of the Westbank Expressway in Marrero. A .40-caliber pistol found in the motel room. The Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab determined it was used in the murder.

Detectives also searched Tatum’s cell phone and learned that two hours after the murder, he used the device to search for news stories about the murder. He also searched the internet for his name in association with Veal’s murder, and inquired about criminal defenses, including how to defend oneself from assertions raised by “a snitch.”

Tatum additionally was convicted of two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He was forbidden from possessing firearms because of his 2010 convictions of attempted second-degree murder, for which he received a 15-year prison sentence.

The defense attorneys argued that Tatum and Augustus were wrongly accused and are innocent. They assailed the prosecution’s key witness as being untruthful and sought to undermine the Sheriff’s Office investigation.

The jury deliberated about three hours on Jan. 10 in finding Tatum and Augustus guilty as charged.

In addition to sentencing the duo to life in prison for the murder, Judge Mentz ordered each man to serve 49 years in prison for conspiracy to commit armed robbery. The judge also sentenced Tatum to two 20-year sentences for each of the firearm possession counts. All sentences were run concurrently.

After the sentencing hearing, Augustus pleaded guilty to unrelated charges of possession of Tramadol, possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled dangerous substance (marijuana), and to misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession and disturbing the peace. Judge Mentz sentenced Augustus to five years for each of the felonies, and six months and a $100 fine for the misdemeanors.

Assistant District Attorneys Leo Aaron and James Wascom prosecuted the case.

 

Gerald Barker sentenced to back-to-back life sentences for double-murder

A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (Dec. 18) sentenced Gerald “Bird” Barker to back-to-back life sentences in prison for executing two people in a Westwego residence from where he sometimes sold crack cocaine.

Barker, 37, will serve the life sentences for the second-degree murders of Linda Turner, 68, and Curtis Thomas, 51, who were shot inside Turner’s home in the 600 block of Emile Avenue on Jan. 17, 2023.

A Jefferson Parish jury on Dec. 4 deliberated about 20 minutes in finding Barker guilty as charged of killing Turner and Thomas, in addition to convicting him of obstruction of justice, possession of cocaine and of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Turner owned the home in which she died. She allowed Barker to sell narcotics from the home, and Barker later confessed to a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detective that he helped her pay her bills because of this arrangement.

At about 9 p.m. Jan. 17, 2023, an acquaintance of theirs went to the home, discovered the bodies and called 911. Deputies found Thomas lying in a pool of his blood on the living room floor just inside the front door. He was pronounced dead at the scene. They found Turner seated on her sofa in the living room suffering from gunshot wounds. She died shortly after at a hospital.

The physical evidence shows that Thomas was standing just inside the front door when Barker, standing in the doorway, shot him in the back of his head, according to an expert in crime scene reconstruction. Thomas fell to the ground, and Barker stood over him and shot him in the face. Barker then entered the living room and shot Turner in her face, arm and head, according to the expert.

Detectives developed Barker as a suspect almost immediately. They also obtained surveillance video from a nearby residence showing that immediately after the murders, Barker ran from the house.

The detectives learned that Barker ran to his friend Lee Wings’ home less than a mile away, on Gwen Street.

Armed with an arrest warrant, members of the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Force located Barker at an addiction treatment facility in New Orleans in March 2023 and took him into custody.

During his interview with the Sheriff’s Office, Barker admitted he sold crack cocaine from the Turner’s home and occasionally resided there. But he said he was at Wing’s home when Turner and Thomas were slain. He eventually confessed to shooting the two people.

“I hope and pray that you never see the streets again. Ever,” Thomas’s ex-wife told the court Wednesday in victim-impact testimony. “It was uncalled for. It was totally uncalled for. I know your family can see you again. We can never see him again. It’s never.”

Before announcing the sentences, Judge Frank Brindisi of the 24th Judicial District Court told Barker he is “incorrigible,” citing his numerous convictions of possession of cocaine since 2007.

“I don’t think you’ll ever go straight,” Judge Brindisi told him. “I think you’re a one-man crime wave.”

For the murders, he sentenced Barker to the mandatory life sentences, to be served without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. He ran the sentences consecutively.

Judge Brindisi separately sentenced Barker to 40 years for obstruction of justice and fined him $100,000, for eliminating the murder weapon; two years for possession of cocaine; and, 20 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Barker was prohibited from possessing firearms because of a 2018 conviction of possession of cocaine.

“Mr. Barker, you’re going where you need to be,” Judge Brindisi told him. “Good luck.”

Separately, Barker’s co-defendant, Wings, 59, pleaded guilty Wednesday to accessory after the fact to second-degree murder and was sentenced to three years of active probation. After Barker committed the murders, Wings drove Barker to the east bank of Jefferson Parish, stopping on the Crescent City Connection along the way so that Barker could toss the murder weapon into the Mississippi River. After returning to the West Bank, Wings left Barker at a motel.

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

Anthony Morgan convicted of murder in Airline Drive ‘ambush’ shooting

A Jefferson Parish jury on Thursday (Dec. 5) found Anthony Morgan guilty of brazenly ambushing a man who was sitting in his car at an Airline Drive intersection in Metairie when he was fatally shot.

Morgan, 44, of Metairie, was convicted of the second-degree murder of Aaron Lee, 44, also of Metairie. Lee was shot multiple times as he sat in the driver’s seat of his Dodge Charger, waiting for the traffic light to change at Airline Drive and Turnbull Drive on April 25, 2022.

Responding to 911 calls at about 12:45 a.m., Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies found Lee inside the Charger, which was in westbound Airline’s left turn lane. Although he was shot four times, including a fatal wound to his left eye, Lee had not yet died. He had a loaded shotgun with a sawed-off barrel in his lap.

Nearby, the deputies found an unoccupied Infiniti M37, in Turnbull’s northbound lane at Airline – the car Morgan was in.

Detectives obtained surveillance footage from nearby businesses showing Morgan arriving at the intersection in the Infiniti. Seventeen seconds later, he stepped out of the vehicle, stumbling at first and losing his cap.

Carrying an assault-style semiautomatic rifle, Morgan began shooting as he backed away from Lee. Morgan then changed course, aggressively moving toward Lee, in all firing more than 47 .223-caliber bullets as he focused his fire on his target.

“That’s a guerilla-style ambush in the middle of Airline Highway,” Assistant District Attorney Brendan Bowen told jurors in closing argument Thursday.

Morgan, who lived a half-block from the murder scene, then fled on foot into the adjacent neighborhood, leaving the Infiniti and his cap on the roadway.

Detectives found a car registered to Morgan parked nearby with the rifle he used inside it, along with his cell phone. The detectives identified Morgan as the shooter and obtained an arrest warrant. A U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force arrested Morgan four days after the shooting at an apartment in eastern New Orleans.

Detectives also learned that Lee and Morgan had been intimately involved with the same woman, and that there were ongoing hostilities between the men.

Morgan initially denied involvement and told a detective that he was with “a call girl” when Lee was shot. However, his DNA was recovered from the cap that fell from his head as he stumbled out of the Infiniti. Morgan now asserts self-defense.

Morgan told jurors Wednesday he carried an assault-style rifle for protection and said he had heard that Lee believed he killed an acquaintance in the Shrewsbury neighborhood. He described himself as the victim of an ambush and started shooting Lee only after Lee stepped out of his car and pointed a rifle at him as a second gunman fired from behind him.

However, evidence shows that Lee was seated inside his car when he was shot in his left eye, and that the bullet had passed through the windshield or driver’s side window and was tumbling when it struck him, according to the pathologist who conducted the autopsy and a crime scene reconstruction expert. Further, there was no blood or biological matter found on the outside of Lee’s white car, indicating that he had not stepped out of the driver’s seat to shoot at Morgan when he was shot.

The evidence shows that Morgan was not in imminent danger when he shot Lee, meaning his actions in shooting Lee were not reasonable or justifiable, Assistant District Attorney Kristen Landrieu told jurors Thursday.  “Aaron Lee should be with his family,” she argued. “He should be celebrating birthdays and Christmas and Thanksgiving. And he’s not, because Anthony Morgan took things into his own hands. This is a second-degree murder. There is no other option.”

Following his arrest and while held in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center, Morgan enlisted Brittany M. Schoeppner and Joseph A. Freeman Jr., to retrieve a semiautomatic rifle from his apartment to hinder the ongoing murder investigation. They complied with the request.

Schoeppner, 32, of Kenner, pleaded guilty on July 11 to obstruction of justice and to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. She then pleaded guilty under the state’s habitual offender law and was sentenced to 13 years and four months in prison. She was forbidden to carry firearms because of prior a narcotic conviction in New Orleans.

Freeman, 58, of Metairie, pleaded guilty on April 11 to obstruction of justice and to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He received a 10-year prison sentence. He was forbidden from possessing firearms because of a prior narcotics conviction in Jefferson Parish and a simple burglary conviction in New Orleans.

In addition to second-degree murder, Morgan was convicted of three counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of obstruction of justice. He was prohibited from carrying firearms because of narcotics convictions in New Orleans.

The jury that was seated Monday deliberated less than one hour in finding him guilty of all six counts.

Judge June Berry Darensburg of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Morgan on Jan. 23.

Assistant District Attorneys Kristen Landrieu and Brendan Bowen prosecuted the case.

Cody Labranche sentenced to two life sentences plus 40 years for Metairie double murder

A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (Dec. 4) sentenced Cody Labranche to back-to-back life sentences, plus 40 years in prison for his conviction of murdering two men in their Metairie home.

Labranche, 30, of Ponchatoula, received the mandatory sentence for the first-degree murders of Jonathan Pizzuto, 39, and his roommate William Mitchell, 36.

Labranche shot the men in the living room of their home in the 600 block of Rosa Avenue on Jan. 17, 2002, as the victims played video games. Pizzuto had been in a long-term romantic relationship with Labranche’s sister, who overdosed inside the residence in July 2020. Labranche blamed Pizzuto for her death.

Following his arrest and during his trial, Labranche asserted self-defense, saying that as he entered the living room, he thought Mitchell was reaching for a weapon. So, he opened fire. The crime scene reconstruction refutes Labranche’s self-defense claim.

A Jefferson Parish jury on Nov. 8 found Labranche guilty as charged.

Click here to read about the trial.

In addition to the murders, Labranche was convicted of obstruction of justice, for hindering the investigation by disposing of the murder weapon. He told detectives he tossed the pistol in a river.

On Wednesday, family members recounted in victim-impact testimony how Pizzuto deeply mourned Labranche’s sister’s death; they were a couple for more than a decade, and their ashes are together now “for eternity,” one relative said.

“You killed these boys because you were evil and sick-minded,” Pizzuto’s mother testified, adding that Pizzuto’s teenage nephew was playing video games with his uncle on that night and heard the gunfire through the tv game console, unaware of what was happening.

In a prepared statement read aloud in court, Mitchell’s sister said her brother “died trying to get out of the door” when Labranche began shooting. She noted her brother also mourned the death of Labranche’s sister and even drove from California to attend her funeral.

Judge Ellen Shirer Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Labranche to life in prison without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence, and 40 years for the obstruction of justice. Judge Kovach ran the sentences consecutively.

Assistant District Attorneys Megan Gorman and Alyssa Aleman prosecuted the case.

 

Donte Allen gets 25-year sentence for abusing dementia victim during residential burglaries

A Jefferson Parish judge has sentenced Donte Allen to 25 years in prison, for his convictions of repeatedly entering a Metairie home where a woman suffering from dementia resided, sexually abusing her, cooking at least one meal and taking items.

Allen, 24, of Kenner, was convicted on Oct. 16 of sexual battery of the infirm, three counts of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling, attempted disarming of a police officer, resisting police by force or violence, resisting an officer and criminal trespassing. His sentencing hearing was held on Nov. 18.

Allen had entered the Bruin Drive home at least four times. A 62-year-old immigrant who could not speak English and whose dementia left her unable to communicate resided in the home where relatives cared for her. She was left alone while family member worked.

In April 2021, relatives of the victim called 911, reporting that someone had been in the house cooking. Surveillance cameras at the residence were not operable, and a deputy found no evidence of other crimes.

Two days later, a relative went to the house and noticed a strange cell phone plugged into a wall, charging. That relative and his brother waited at the house to determine whether it belonged to the person they suspected had been entering the house.

The cell phone’s owner – Allen – arrived at the house that afternoon and let himself in with a key. One of the relatives confronted him and told him to drop the key. Allen did so and said he was a friend of the victim’s and returned to retrieve his cell phone. Another relative held Allen at gunpoint until the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office arrived. But before deputies arrived, Allen fled on a bicycle, leaving his cell phone behind.

In late April, a relative arrived at the house to find Allen lying on a bed. He fled. The family found a broken window, indicating that was how Allen entered. Again, the victim was unable to communicate with deputies or her family about what transpired.

Days later, when the surveillance cameras were operable, Allen returned. Failing to force open a door with his hips, he broke a window to get inside. The victim was sleeping on a living room sofa as Allen walked around the residence.

At one point, he’s recorded entering the living room wearing only his boxer shorts. He picked up the victim and carried her to a room that was not equipped with cameras. A short time later, he returned to the living room, completely naked and sexually aroused.

He remained in the residence for several hours, rummaging through the property and later is seen putting items into a backpack. A relative arrived at the residence that night and found him inside. He fled.

The Sheriff’s Office identified Allen as a suspect by comparing his behavior to other trespassing and burglary investigations and through his booking photograph. On the cell phone Allen left at the residence in early April, detectives recovered a phone number they linked to Allen.

Deputies arrested Allen on May 10, 2021, while responding to a burglary-in-progress on Judith Street. They encountered Allen inside the home. He violently resisted and fled. The deputies caught him hiding in a nearby backyard shed. One of the deputies was injured during the arrest.

When connected to the Bruin Drive crimes, Allen told detectives that he met the victim while she was walking. She invited him to her home, and she gave him money, he asserted. He said she also gave him a spare key.

And he asserted that the victim orally agreed to sexual relations with him – again, she could not speak English.

Allen pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. His attorney asserted that Allen is schizophrenic and believed he had a consensual sexual relationship with the victim.

He waived a trial by jury, leaving it to 24th Judicial District Judge June Berry Darensburg to hear the evidence and render a verdict. Following the two-day trial, and after hearing testimony from psychiatrists for the state and the defense to determine whether Allen knew right from wrong when committing his crimes, Judge Darensburg found Allen guilty as charged after about ½ hour of deliberation on Oct. 16.

During the sentencing hearing on Nov. 18, Judge Darensburg rejected defense motions to overturn the verdict and grant Allen a new trial. In impact testimony, the victim’s sister thanked the court, the prosecution and the Sheriff’s Office for the work they did in the case.

Judge Darensburg sentenced Allen to 25 years in prison for sexual battery, without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence; seven years in prison for each of the three burglary charges; and, two years in prison for each of the attempted disarming of a police officer and resisting police by force or violence. For the two misdemeanors, she sentenced Allen to 30 days for resisting an officer and six months for criminal trespassing.

Judge Darensburg ran the sentences concurrent with each other, for a total of 25 years. Allen also will have to register as a sex offender.

Assistant District Attorneys Kristen Landrieu and Zach Grate prosecuted the case.