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The parish’s police chiefs, the chief sheriff’s deputy and the district attorney talked Monday about the challenges presented by juvenile crime, and pointed to some of the solutions their jurisdictions have developed.

“We’re here to find out what they’re doing,” moderator Pearl Rack said. “Then you have to think about it: What can we do?”

The panel appeared at the Patterson Area Civic Center for the second in a series of town hall meetings called to discuss a recent surge in violent crime. The goal is to form a task force.

The first meeting June 6 brought together the mayors of St. Mary municipalities. The next, set for 6 p.m. June 20 at the Patterson Area Civic Center, will focus on social services.

Attending Monday’s town hall meeting were the five St. Mary police chiefs: Interim Chief Mark Griffin Jr. of Morgan City, David Leonard of Berwick, Garrett Grogan of Patterson, Morris Beverly of Franklin and Harry Smith of Baldwin.

They were joined by St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Gary Driskell and Bo Duhé, district attorney for the 16th Judicial District.

Asked to rate the relative seriousness of gun violence, drugs, domestic abuse and home invasion in their communities, the chiefs generally put gun violence and drugs at the top of the list.

“If we can take care of the drugs ... it may help with the gun violence we’re seeing throughout the parish,” Grogan said.

It didn’t take long for the talk to turn to the same major problem identified by the mayors: juvenile crime.

“It’s a tragedy to see these young kids lose their lives over simple arguments,” Driskell said.

Identifying the problem is one thing. Fixing it is proving more difficult. One question for the panel asked why juveniles accused of serious crimes are sometimes released to their parents’ custody.

Duhé outlined the troubled recent history of juvenile justice in Louisiana.

In 2003, Louisiana turned to what was called “Missouri model” for juvenile justice, Duhé said. That model called for smaller detention facilities closer to where offenders live as an alternative to large juvenile jails, with improved provisions for health care and limits on the number of youths housed in each jail “pod.”

Violence and abuse at the large facility known as Tallulah led to a search for a different way.

But when state budget problems arose, then-Gov. Bobby Jindal cut the Office of Juvenile Justice budget by more than half, Duhé said.

Other nearby detention centers may not accept inmates from St. Mary because they’re full. Hurricane Ida forced the Terrebonne facility to close, taking away one detention option and reducing space at the facilities where Terrebonne inmates were moved.

Lack of space may require local jurisdictions to send offenders to facilities in Mississippi or Alabama at a cost of $200-$300 per day.

That cost can be a burden on local budgets. For comparison, the Morgan City government recently stopped housing adult St. Mary Parish inmates in the city jail. The two sides couldn’t come to terms on a request for an additional $5 reimbursement per prisoner per day.

The Legislature raised the age at which an offender can be treated as an adult in most circumstances from 17 to 18. That turned 17-year-olds into juveniles in the justice system.

In the year before the change, 22 juveniles committed 33 homicides. In 2019, after the change, 70 juveniles committed 99 homicides.

“We think the system has fallen,” Duhé said.

Local entities have nevertheless found ways to deal with juveniles.

Griffin praised the work of Morgan City Court Judge Kim Stansbury, who handles juveniles by assigning community service work and following up to see how they’re doing in school.

Beverly said Franklin Mayor Eugene Foulcard recently brought a juvenile to the police station, where he got a touch of “Scared Straight” with a tour of the jail as well as mentoring.

Duhé also said St. Mary started the state’s first drug court in 1996.

Louisiana State Doubles Horseshoe Pitching Championships
Kemper Williams Park
Patterson
June 11

Class A Women
First place, Mary Guzdial, Patterson and Angela Percle, Morgan City, 5-0, 20.4; second place, Marilyn Nulty, New Orleans, and Edie Corso, Destrehan, 4-1, 23.0; and third place, Bobbie Richard, Church Point, and Wanda Lantz, Marrero, 3-2, 31.7.

Class A Men
First, Neil Whitney, Harahan, and Burnie Williams, Morgan City, 4-1, 37.7; second, Alois Habetz, Sulphur, and Ricky Richard, Church Point, 3½-1½, 25.0; and third, Clyde Landry, Pierre Part, and Jimmy Percle, Morgan City, 3-2, 28.0.

Class B Men
First, Jim Guzdial, Patterson, and Dale Pearce, Bayou Vista, 5-2, 20.7; second, Glenn Miller, Belle River, and Dwain Arceneaux, Thibodaux, 4-3, 22.6; and third, C.J. Bertrand and Ron Smith, Lake Charles, 4-3, 18.3.

Class C Men
First, Al Graham and Tim Hayles, Berwick, 6-1, 15.0; second, Joe Primeaux, Broussard, and Clay Canty, Morgan City, 5-2, 12.8; and third, Warren Raymond and Neil Shaw, Patterson, 5-2, 8.3.

The exact shape of St. Mary Parish’s representation in Congress is up in the air again.

Louisiana legislators were to go back into session Wednesday to redraw the map of U.S. House districts after a 5th U.S. District Court of Appeals ruling
Sunday.

That ruling lifted a stay delaying implementation of a lower court ruling throwing out the district map approved by lawmakers this session with a rare override of a veto by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

The controversy is over whether one or two of Louisiana’s six congressional districts should have a Black majority. The map approved by the Legislature maintained one Black-majority district.

That map also splits St. Mary between two House districts, with the majority of the parish remaining in the 3rd District while portions of the extreme eastern part of the parish go to the 6th District.

U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick struck down that map earlier this month and ordered the Legislature to go back into session to redraw a map with two winnable districts for a Black candidate.

The 5th Circuit blocked implementation of the ruling Thursday on what Edwards called procedural grounds. Then the 5th Circuit vacated its earlier move, giving the apparent go-ahead for the special session called by Edwards.

Republican legislative leaders challenged Dick’s ruling and had expressed confidence to reporters that conservative 5th Circuit would block the lower court order.

“This is a big step in the right direction for the people of Louisiana, and I’m thankful to the U.S Fifth Circuit for lifting the stay,” Edward said in a press release. “This has always been a straightforward case of simple math, simple fairness and the rule of law.

“According to the U.S. Census, African Americans make up nearly one-third of the voting population in Louisiana, and therefore, we should have a second majority minority congressional district.”

“The 5th Circuit has not yet considered the merits of the case,” said state Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell and the map’s key backer in the Senate, quoted by the Center Square. “The legislative branch, executive branch, and judicial branch all have a role, with great deference given to the legislative branch, which has the constitutional responsibility to redistrict. We will continue to carry out our responsibilities.”

The Legislature must redraw most political district maps after each U.S. census to maintain the one person, one vote principle. Remapping is always rife with hardball politics, and that’s especially true this year.

The Legislature’s override of Edwards’ February veto of the map with one Black-majority district is considered by some to be a shift in power between the state’s executive and legislative branches.

Republicans have hopes of recapturing control of the U.S. House in this year's mid-terms. Adding a winnable district for an African American candidate could mean losing a Louisiana seat now represented by a Republican while the Democrats pick up a seat.

This is also the first time in more than half a century when the Legislature was not required to submit the House map to the U.S. Justice Department for “pre-clearance” under Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the pre-clearance requirement in its 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision.

But Shelby left intact the act’s Section 2, which allows for after-the-fact challenges to voting law changes that weaken minority voting strength. Dick’s ruling referred to Section 2 and said the court will redraw Louisiana’s House district map if the Legislature can’t settle on one with two Black-majority districts.

After the 1990 Census, the first Bush administration’s Justice Department took a hard line on not just protecting minority voting rights, but on expanding those rights. That resulted in a second Black-majority congressional district in Louisiana, which still had seven House seats at the time.

The first Black-majority district, the rough boundaries of which exist today, was centered on New Orleans. In order to pick up enough black residents, the
second stretched from Shreveport to Monroe, southwest past Alexandria to Lafayette and then east to Baton Rouge and the north shore.

But the Supreme Court struck down that district on the grounds that it relied on racial categories to an impermissible degree.

The 2020 Census found that 32.8% of Louisiana’s population is African-American.

(Editor’s note: The charges listed here and the narratives that go with them are provided by the police agencies that made the arrests. Guilt or innocence has not been determined in court.)

Morgan City police made four arrests on domestic abuse charge over the weekend, and two more alleging aggravated battery.

St. Mary Parish sheriff's deputies made a domestic abuse arrest, and Franklin police also made two on charges of battery of a dating partner.

Morgan City
Interim Police Chief Mark Griffin Jr. reported that Morgan City Police Department responded to 111 calls for service over the last 72-hour reporting period and made these arrests:

—David Sanchez, 42, Victor II Boulevard, Morgan City, was arrested at 1:56 a.m. Saturday on a charge of domestic abuse battery.

—Luz Gomez Ortega, 44, Chennault Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 1:56 a.m. Saturday on a charge of domestic abuse battery.

—Jodie Daigle, 57, Third Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 1:26 p.m. Sunday on charges of domestic abuse battery and simple battery.

—Joseph Daigle, 55, Missouri Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 1:45 p.m. Sunday on a charge of domestic abuse battery.

—Jamerie Tyhein Gas, 19, Railroad Avenue, Morgan City, was arrested at 4:35 p.m. Friday as a fugitive from the Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office.

—Kathleen Ceasar Nero, 57, Southeast Boulevard, Morgan City, was arrested at 8:03 p.m. Friday on charges of aggravated battery and failure to appear for trial (16 Judicial District Court).

—Shelia Johnson, 47, Barrow Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 8:20 p.m. Friday on a charge of aggravated battery.

—Tammy Lynn Fryou, 48, Barrow Street, was arrested at 5:34 p.m. Saturday on a charge of criminal mischief (filing a false police report).

—Ernest N. Mngo, 38, Federal Avenue, Morgan City, was arrested at 6:40 p.m. Saturday on a charge of disturbing the peace (fighting).

—Deon Rashea Chambers, 44, La. 182, Morgan City, was arrested at 6:40 p.m. Saturday on a charge of disturbing the peace (fighting).

—Edward Washington, 61, Fourth Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 10:39 p.m. Saturday on charges of no driver’s license, improper lighting and failure to appear for executory sentence (16th Judicial District Court).

—Ashley Renee Jones, 25, Railroad Avenue, Morgan City, was arrested at 12:39 p.m. Sunday on a charge of criminal mischief.

St. Mary

Sheriff Blaise Smith reported that over the last 24-hour reporting period, the Sheriff’s Office responded to 82 complaints and made these arrests:

--Mark A. Colbert, 49, Baldwin, was arrested at 9:03 a.m. Friday on a warrant alleging simple battery.

Colbert was released on a summons to appear Sept. 28.

--Kurwin Anthony Webb II, 28, Morgan City, was arrested at 2:08 p.m. Saturday on a warrant alleging domestic abuse (child endangerment law, aggravated) and aggravated assault. Bail has not been set.

--Johnny Freeman Jr., 70, Franklin, was arrested at 9:24 p.m. Saturday on two warrants alleging failure to appear on the charges of operating a vehicle while license is suspended, revoked or canceled and speeding. Bail has been set at $800.

--Walter Joshua Martinez-Galvez, 31, Morgan City, was arrested at 2:33 a.m. Sunday on charges of driving on roadway laned for traffic, driver must be licensed and driving while intoxicated . Bail has been set at $4,500.

--David Lenes Aucoin Jr., 26, Patterson, was arrested at 12:02 a.m. Monday on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and obstruction of justice (tampering) and on a Morgan City Police Department warrant. Bail has not been set.

Franklin

Police Chief Morris Beverly reported that the Franklin Police Department responded to 24 complaints over the weekend and made these arrests:

—Arneze Jack, 33, St. Peter Street, New Iberia, was arrested at 1:17 a.m. Saturday on charges of disturbing the peace by intoxication, criminal trespassing and simple criminal damage to property. Jack was additionally charged with a 16th Judicial District Court warrant alleging failure to appear on the charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, speeding, operating a vehicle without a driver’s license and operating a vehicle without proof of insurance.

Jack was booked, processed, and held with no bond set at time of press release.

—Zachary Fine, 36, Becnel Street, Franklin, was arrested at 1:11 p.m. Sunday on a warrant dated May 10 alleging obstructing public passages and disturbing the peace (fighting). Fine was booked, processed and released on a $2,000 bond.

—Joseph Jennings, 56, Mechanic Street, Franklin, was arrested at 5:26 p.m. Sunday on a charge of battery of a dating partner. Jennings was booked, processed and released on a $2,500 bond.

—Lisa Nwafor, 44, Mechanic Street, Franklin, was arrested at 5:38 p.m. Sunday on a charge of battery of a dating partner. Nwafor was booked, processed and held on a $2,500 bond.