Tag: Louisiana Bureau of Investigation

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.

Alvin Adams sentenced to 30 years for possessing child pornography

A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (May 17) sentenced Alvin Adams to 30 years in prison for his conviction of possessing more than 800 pornographic images and videos of children.

A jury last week deliberated for about 25 minutes in finding Adams, 46, guilty as charged of possessing pornography involving juveniles under age 13.

Special agents with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigations found the illegal images and videos on Adams’ computer, which they seized in his home in the 3700 block of Bauvais Street in Metairie. The agents opened their investigation in August 2022, after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Adams saved the illegal images and videos in a folder on his computer desktop entitled “porn.” It contained sub-folders in which Adams saved the images by category.

A former Chalmette resident, Adams pleaded guilty in 2004 in St. Bernard Parish to indecent behavior with a juvenile. The Jefferson Parish jury that convicted him last week heard evidence about this prior conviction.

In announcing the 30-year sentence, Judge Frank Brindisi of the 24th Judicial District Court said “the trial and images left me speechless.”

Assistant District Attorneys Taylor Somerville and Piper Didier prosecuted the case.  

Alvin Adams convicted of possessing child pornography in Metairie home

A Jefferson Parish jury deliberated about 25 minutes on Tuesday evening (May 9) in finding Alvin Adams guilty of possessing more than 800 images of child pornography.

Adams, 46, of Metairie, was convicted as charged of one count of pornography involving juveniles under age 13.

The Louisiana Bureau of Investigation opened its investigation in August 2022 after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Special agents were led to Adams’ home in the 3700 block of Bauvais Street.

Although the special agents had a search warrant, Adams refused to allow them inside his home. The special agents, in turn, had to breach a door.

On the desktop of Adams’ computer, the special agents found a folder entitled “porn.” Within that folder were numerous subfolders in which Adams saved explicit images by category. In all, the special agents found more than 800 explicit images and videos.

The jury heard that Adams, a former Chalmette resident, pleaded guilty in 2004 in St. Bernard Parish to indecent behavior with a juvenile, a crime arising from an incident that occurred the year before.

Through his attorney, Adams asserted that the images were manipulated, and that the state did not prove that the computer was his. However, Adams had lived at the residence alone for a lengthy period.

Judge Frank Brindisi of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Adams on May 17.

Assistant District Attorneys Taylor Somerville and Piper Didier prosecuted the case.

 

Westwego man sentenced to 25 years for possessing child pornography

A Jefferson Parish judge on Thursday (Dec. 1) sentenced Jagon Eldridge to 25 years in prison for his conviction of possessing child pornography.

Eldridge, 49, formerly of Westwego, was convicted as charged by a Jefferson Parish jury on Nov. 9 of eight counts of possessing pornographic images involving children under age 13.

In February 2017, a special agent with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation’s Cyber Crime Unit was conducting an undercover investigation of child pornography on the internet and uncovered illegal images that were tracked to Eldridge.

Special agents arrested Eldridge in May 2018. They searched Eldridge’s Avenue G home and obtained images and videos depicting child victims.

At trial last month, Eldridge asserted a number of defenses, including that the state could not prove that the images belonged to him. The jury, which also heard evidence of Eldridge possessing illegal images in 2010, deliberated about 45 minutes in returning with its unanimous guilty verdicts.

During the sentencing hearing on Thursday, Eldridge pleaded for mercy in a lengthy statement to the court. He asked that he be sentenced to the mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison. Possessing child pornography carries a sentencing range of 10 to 40 years in prison.

Noting that the child victims were likely asking for mercy when they were being abused, Judge Stephen Enright of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Eldridge to 25 years in prison on each of the eight counts. Judge Enright ran the sentences concurrently.

Eldridge also will have to register as a sex offender for 25 years after his release from prison.

Assistant District Attorney’s Piper Didier and Seth Shute prosecuted the case.