At the February meeting, it caught my attention that the school board’s longtime child welfare psychologist Barzanna White, the Caddo Parish Schools’ Mental Health Wellness and Safe School supervisor, reported 168 referrals in January 2025 for suicidal, homicidal, or depressive concerns.
As I continue to address truancy in schools, we as a community have to be aware that mental health crises amongst our children are real. Many children have been exposed to traumatic incidents in their own homes or neighborhoods. The pressures of digital life, such as cell phones, social media “likes” and comments, and online bullying are real. Typical teenage angst that we all felt, is now exacerbated from these sources.
If your child is having issues, please call The Harbor, located at 3004 Knight St, Shreveport, 71105, at (318)725-4267, and they will connect you with support and help you navigate available solutions.
Other tools for you:
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 24-hour crisis hotline at 800-273-8255. Confidential online chat is available at suicidepreventionlifeline.org
- Crisis Text Line: To get 24-hour support, text “HOME” to 741741. Get more information at crisistextline.org
My Assistant District Attorneys and staff were very busy and productive in the month of February 2025. Here are some highlights:
Terry Miller Sr., 46, was convicted February 27 of aggravated assault with a firearm, illegal use of a weapon during violence or CDS law violation with criminal damage to property, and possession of a firearm or carrying a concealed weapon by a convicted felon.
The unanimous seven-woman, five-man jury in District Judge Donald E. Hathaway Jr.’s court returned its guilty verdicts after deliberating approximately one hour.
At trial, the District Attorney’s office called four witnesses to prove that Miller assaulted his former fiance with a firearm in January 2023, then fired the firearm at the ceiling and at the floor near the woman. As the victim tried to leave, Miller followed her outside and shot at her multiple times as she tried to drive away. Miller had previously been convicted of possession with intent to distribute schedule I in December 2016, a felony that prevents him from having a firearm for a decade after completion of his sentence.
Miller will return to Judge Hathaway’s court for sentencing April 15, 2025. He faces up to 50 years if he receives the maximum sentences for the three offense and if the terms are to be served consecutively. For the Aggravated Assault with a Firearm conviction he could be sentenced up to 10 years with or without hard labor. For the Illegal Use of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence/CDS conviction he faces at least 10 years, but no more than 20 years, at hard labor without benefit of parole, suspension of sentence or probation. And for the Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon conviction, he must serve at last five years or up to 20 years at hard labor without benefit of parole, suspension of sentence or probation.
Assistant District Attorneys Ashlin Thomas and Stephen Folk-Cruthirds prosecuted Mill. He was defended by Evan McMichael and Katie Ferguson.
The case was docket No. 393825.
* A Mooringsport man found guilty in Caddo District Court last November of sexual battery of a teenaged boy must serve 90 years in prison, a judge ruled in late February.
District Judge Chris Victory sentenced Anthony Hollis, 52, for the sexual assaults that occurred numerous times from November 2020 to November 2022.
Hollis’s hard labor term must be served without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. If he ever is released from prison he must register as a sex offender for life.
Hollis was arrested in September 2023, shortly after the victim, then 13, told a family friend that he had been sexually assaulted by Hollis between the ages of 11 and 12. The victim reported Hollis ordered him to perform oral sex on him and had groped him in the shower, and told the victim not to report the attacks to anyone.
Hollis was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Victoria Washington and Courtney Ray. He was defended by Michael Enright and Katie Miller.
The case was docket No. 397853.
* A Caddo Parish jury convicted a Keithville man February 25 of two counts of molestation of a juvenile under the age of 13.
It took less than an hour for the eight-woman, four-man jury in District Judge Donald E. Hathaway Jr.’s court to convict David Wilson Waters, 64. He will return to court March 14 for sentencing. He faces at least 25 and up to 99 years in prison, to be served without benefit of probation or suspension of sentence. Additionally, he must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Prosecutors called six witnesses to establish that Waters molested 7- and 8-year-old girls related to a close female acquaintance in 2016 and 2017. The first victim reported the abuse to a relative, who did not inform law enforcement. As a result, the failure of the victim’s family member to alert authorities led the victim to believe that nothing would happen to her abuser and that no one would believe her during her forensic interview at the Gingerbread House. The second victim reported the abuse to a counselor in late 2018; that counselor testified at trial. Waters was not arrested at that time and prosecution was not initiated until May 2020. In a case based almost entirely on the testimony of the two juvenile victims, the D.A.’s office worked diligently to prove the accounts of the victims were credible and corroborated each other.
The defense called three witnesses, including defendant Waters. Defense witnesses testified the defendant was never alone with the victims, despite the fact that they lived in the same residence together for over a year. The victims’ female relation friend of Waters testified the victims were lying for a financial reason and that neither of the victims ever reported the abuse to her. Under cross-examination Waters could not explain inconsistencies between his testimony and a statement he gave to police in 2017.
In rebuttal, prosecutors called the mother of the victims, who testified that Waters’ female acquaintance who she said did in fact inform her of the victims’ accusation in 2017 but that the relative attempted to minimize the conduct.
Waters also was indicted for aggravated rape, but the victim refused to cooperate and appear at trial. As a result, that count was severed and the jury was not allowed to hear evidence of that crime.
Assistant District Attorneys Jason Waltman and Christopher Bowman prosecuted the case. Joey Hendrix defended Waters.
The case was docket No. 375533.
* A Shreveport man whose retrial for murder and manslaughter in January resulted in unanimous guilty verdicts necessitated by a 2020 US Supreme Court ruling, was sentenced February 24 in Caddo District Court.
District Judge Erin Leigh Waddell Garrett sentenced Jerry Jackson, 57, to serve a mandatory life term in prison at hard labor for his second-degree murder conviction, and to 40 years for the manslaughter conviction, the terms to be served consecutively.
Jackson first was convicted in 2019 of the 2016 slayings of his stepson and a neighbor. However, he was retried and convicted again this year.
On July 20, 2016, Jackson shot and killed his stepson, Kendrick Brown, and a neighbor, Michael Dillard, in front of the Bond Drive residence of his wife, Rhonda Brown. After the shooting, Jackson tried to hide the .22 caliber rifle he used in the slayings by giving it to a friend. The friend notified the Caddo Parish Sheriff s office, which in turn notified the Shreveport Police Department. The rifle was collected and matched to the .22 caliber casings at the crime scene. In addition, Jackson’s then-wife, Rhonda Brown, and a neighbor also testified that Jackson had shot the two victims.
Jackson’s retrial was necessitated by the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision Ramos v. Louisiana, 590 U.S. 83, in which the Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires that guilty verdicts be unanimous in criminal trials.
Jackson was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Bill Edwards and Kodie Smith. He was defended by Sean Landry.
The case was docket No. 406516.
* A second person was found guilty of murder in February and sentenced in connection with the 2021 slaying of Chavez Parker.
Darius Persley, 25, was convicted unanimously of second-degree murder by the eight-woman, four-man jury in Caddo District Judge Chris Victory’s court February 13. Deliberations lasted 45 minutes. Persley was sentenced February 24 to serve life in prison at hard labor, with no parole, probation of suspension of sentence.
Over the course of the trial, prosecutors called 11 witnesses to prove that defendant Persley murdered Mr. Parker, 29, on December 21, 2021 outside Parker’s home in the 6600 block of Melara Avenue. Persley arranged to meet Parker at his home under the pretext of smoking marijuana. However, evidence obtained by the Shreveport Police Department in the investigation revealed that the defendant and co-defendant Quinton Peace, convicted of murder also in November 2023, were planning a robbery. In a serious of text messages, Persley told Peace that they would obtain firearms for the robbery, and that he did not want Peace to bring anyone with him who would say anything if they had to kill someone. Evidence produced at trial showed that Parker was shot four times – once in the temple, once in the cheek, once in the neck, and once in a shoulder. Additionally, prosecutors called Phillip Stout of the North Louisiana Crime Lab to establish that the shots were fired by two different weapons of the same brand. Additionally, the state called Dr. Long Jin, a pathologist at Ochsner LSU Health, to establish that each weapon had fired a fatal shot.
The most compelling testimony at the trial concerned the decision of Persley and Peace to return to the scene of the crime following the murder, out of concern that they had left physical evidence that could link them to the slaying. Persley dropped Peace off back at murder scene approximately 10 minutes after the shooting. Peace got into the victim’s car and drove it to the Linwood Home Apartments. Because he was unable to move victim Parker into the front passenger seat, Peace had to drive while seated on the dead man’s lap. As Persley and Peace were attempting to wipe the car down in the parking lot of the Linwood Home Apartments, they were caught in the act by two Shreveport Police officers on proactive patrol and were apprehended. A DNA analyst from the crime lab testified that a cloth ski mask found with the Parker car contained Persley’s DNA.
Quinton Peace was convicted of second-degree murder in November 2023. At his trial, the state was able to play for the jury a statement Peace made to police in which he admitted that he and Persley planned to rob Parker of his marijuana. Additionally Peace stated that he and Persley both were armed with SCCY 9 mm handguns. Peace was called to testify but he disrupted court proceedings, refusing to answer questions and cursing the prosecutors. Due to this prosecutors were not able to present this evidence to the jury.
Peace, now serving a mandatory life sentence for his part in the slaying, was found guilty of seven separate counts of contempt of court, with Judge Victory imposing the maximum sentence on each to run consecutive to each other and the life sentence Peace now is serving.
Persley was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Christopher Bowman and Bill Edwards. Carlos Prudhomme defended Persley.
The case was docket No. 386867.
* A Texas woman who set fire to her boyfriend’s mother’s home pleaded guilty in Caddo District Judge Ramona Emanuel’s court February 10, just as her trial for felony arson was about to begin.
Tory Reed, 37, was charged with setting fire to Sharon Johnson’s home in the 5500 block of Ben Jai Drive the evening of November 13, 2022. Ms. Johnson was the mother of Reed’s then-boyfriend, Jenealious Johnson. The fire fully engulfed the home and ultimately burned the residence completely. Tory Reed confessed to Shreveport Fire Department investigators that she had set the fire. She stated she initially just wanted to set the couch in the living room on fire, but then the fire got out of control and fully engulfed the home. She was the only person at the home at the time of the fire and no one was injured, but the damage amounted to more than $54,000.
When Reed returns to court March 20, she faces up to 15 years in prison at hard labor, and a fine of up to $15,000.
Reed was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Fernando Grider and Senae D. Hall. She was defended by Royal Alexander and Dave Knadler.
The case was docket No. 392376.
* A Keithville man was convicted of inappropriate sexual activity with a teen girl February 12.
The six-woman, six-man jury in District Judge Ramona Emanuel’s court found Brandon McDuffy, 43, guilty of one count of sexual battery.
His victim, a relative, moved in with him in 2018, when she was 17. He had the victim sleep in his bed and over the course of time he began to touch her breasts and buttocks without her consent. This activity continued until she moved out of the residence.
The victim testified, as did two Shreveport Police detectives.
McDuffy is set to return to court for sentencing April 16, when he faces up to 10 years of imprisonment, with or without hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. He also must register as a sex offender for 15 years.
McDuffy was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Fernando Grider and Senae D. Hall. He was defended by Royal Alexander and Dave Knadler.
The case was docket No. 381654.
* A Shreveport man whose trial was set to begin February 12 pleaded guilty just before proceedings were to begin.
Barkalski Clark, 42, pleaded guilty before District Judge Donald E. Hathaway Jr. to two counts of violence against his longtime dating partner. One charge was aggravated assault of a dating partner, for which Clark could be sentenced to prison for up to five years at hard labor. The second charge to which he pleaded guilty, was battery of a dating partner with serious bodily injury, for which he could be sentenced up to eight years at hard labor. Sentencing is set for March 12.
The violence of the first charge occurred June 13, 2023, when Clark physically attacked his long-time dating partner and brandished a knife during the assault. The woman had returned home to gather some personal belongings. Clark came from around the side of the house where he had been hiding. He followed the woman inside the home and began the attack.
The second and earlier attack occurred May 31, 2023, when Clark attacked the same woman, striking her multiple times in the face with a closed fist and knocking her to the ground. She suffered a broken nose and bruises all over her body.
The victim refused to participate in the prosecution, but the state obtained medical records and photos that would have allowed the trial to go forward, even without the victim.
Prosecutors, from the DA’s Special Victims Unit, were District Attorneys Britney A. Green and Ron Christopher Stamps. Clark was defended by Evan McMichaels.
The case was docket No. 402876.
* A Shreveport man with a history of domestic violence was found guilty February 11 of strangling and battering a female domestic partner.
Nakadrian Oshee Sanders, 24, was found guilty as charged of battering his live-in girlfriend and strangling her to unconsciousness on September 24, 2024. He testified on his own behalf. Prosecutors with the Caddo DA’s Special Victims Unit called the victim in the September attack to testify, as well as a prior intimate partner who testified about him abusing her in 2021 and 2023. The state also called a responding officer and a fingerprint expert. During the attack, Sanders beat the victim, locked her out of their home and strangled her.
The nine-woman, three-man jury in District Judge Donald E. Hathaway Jr.’s court deliberated approximately one hour before returning its verdicts.
Sanders has two prior convictions for domestic violence, in Bossier Parish in 2020 and in Caddo in 2021.
When Sanders returns to court March 12 he faces from one to five years in prison for Domestic Abuse Battery, third offense, and from five to 50 years in prison for domestic abuse battery strangulation with serious bodily injury.
Sanders was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Britney A. Green and Ron Christopher Stamps. He was defended by Evan McMichaels and Katherine Ferguson.
The case was docket No. 404285.
* In February, the Caddo Parish Grand Jury returned seven indictments, four public and three under seal. The four public indictments all involved recent murders and associated crimes.
Victor Bradley, 29, of Shreveport, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the March 13, 2024 slayings of Erica Pitts, 30, and Tavarae Loneman, 28. The two were found shot to death in a parked running car at the intersection of Clanton Street at St. Vincent Avenue in the Caddo Heights neighborhood. A third count in the indictment is for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The case is docket No. 405332.
Onterio Robinson, 18, of Shreveport, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the November 4, 2024 slaying of Anthony Vinson Jr., 15. The teen was walking in the 5700 block of Jewella Avenue when he was shot at from a passing vehicle. The case is docket No. 404972.
Rodnick Calhoun, 15, of Greenwood, also was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the Vinson slaying. His case is docket No. 405289.
Lonnie Paul Troquille, 42, of Shreveport, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the November 17, 2024, slaying of Kali Lynch-Roberts, 29. The victim, Troquille’s girlfriend, was shot at her residence in the 100 block of East Herndon Street. The case is docket No. 405188.
In the first of the sealed indictments, Dustin Pedicini, 37, of Shreveport, was charged with first-degree rape, indecent behavior with juveniles, pornography involving juveniles and molestation of a juvenile. He was booked into Caddo Correctional Center October 30, 2024, with no bond set.
In the second sealed indictment, Andrew Spinks, no age or place of residence available, was charged with aggravated rape.
In the third sealed indictment, Jordyn Norwood, 16, of Shreveport, was charged with first-degree rape. He was booked into CCC January 23, 2025, under a $750,000 bond.
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Both the Caddo Parish Courthouse Clerk of Court offices at adult and juvenile court will be closed Tuesday, March 4 for Mardi Gras Day. The Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office will be open.
Happy Mardi Gras to you all!
At your service,
James E. Stewart, Sr.
Caddo Parish District Attorney
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