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.