By Bonnie Culverhouse
Things can change in a short period of time, and what is a landmark case in 26th Judicial District Court and the State of Louisiana – scheduled to begin Monday – has been pushed to the second week of November.
“This is the first case from ‘Operation Save Our Streets’ where Minden Police and other agencies arrested around 20 gang members within one week,” said Assistant District Attorney Jimbo Yocom. “The statute has never been used to dismantle a street gang, so we’re paving the way.”
Yocom said word reached the district attorney’s office Monday that the first gang member on trial – Latavion Thomas – was interested in making a deal.
According to court records, Thomas was offered 20 years with all but 8 years suspended.
“He backed out at the last minute,” Yocom said.
Judge Michael Craig was set to preside over the trial. Thomas is charged with Criminal Street Gangs and Patterns of Criminal Street Gang Activity. Yocom is prosecutor and Thomas Mayfield of Shreveport is the defense attorney.
“We will try all of the gang members separately,” Yocom said. “Thomas was chosen first. We make that determination by previous crimes that were committed, his connection to the gang, his record of violent crimes and how much evidence we have to connect him to the gang.”
Yocom said when the case finally comes to trial, evidence will be presented that connects Thomas as a TTS (Trained To Step) gang member.
It’s been more than a year since Minden Police, a FBI task force, Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office, Probation and Parole, United States Marshal’s Service and Bienville Parish blitzed the gang and originally made 12 arrests. As the week wore on, several more were made.
The law was modified August 12, 2003 and and the statute describing punishment was modified July 23, 2010.
The Revised Statue to which Yocom referred is RS 15:1403.
It reads:
A. Any person who intentionally directs, participates, conducts, furthers, or assists in the commission of a pattern of criminal gang activity as defined shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than one-half of the maximum term of imprisonment provided for an underlying offense committed in a pattern of criminal gang activity and may be fined an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars. Any sentence of imprisonment imposed pursuant to this Section shall be in addition and consecutive to any sentence imposed for an underlying offense committed in the pattern of criminal gang activity.
B. Any person who is convicted of a felony or an attempted felony which is committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with any criminal street gang, with the intent to promote, further, or assist in the affairs of a criminal gang, shall, upon conviction of that felony, in addition and consecutive to the punishment prescribed for the felony or attempted felony of which he or she has been convicted, be imprisoned for not less than one year nor more than one-half of the maximum term of imprisonment provided for that offense.
C. Any person who is convicted of an offense other than a felony which is committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with, any criminal street gang, with the specific intent to promote, further, or assist in any criminal conduct or enterprise by gang members, shall, in addition and consecutive to the penalty provided for that offense, be imprisoned for an additional period of six months.
D. The court may elect to suspend all or a part of any additional mandatory punishment or enhanced punishment provided for in this Chapter only in an unusual case where the interests of justice would best be served, and if the court specifies on the record and enters into the minutes the circumstances and reasons that the interests of justice would best be served by that suspension of punishment.
The punishment section of the statute also states that any person over the age of seventeen who violates the provisions of this Section by knowingly soliciting, recruiting, enabling, encouraging, or otherwise causing a child under the age of seventeen to become a member of a criminal street gang, when there is a difference in age of at least three years between the solicitor and the person being solicited, shall be imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than four years, fined not more than ten thousand dollars, or both. Lack of knowledge of the child’s age shall not be a defense.
The cases will be tried at the Webster Parish Courthouse. New date is November 13.
