Suspect's reduced bond angers victim
Arrested man back on streets
By Lynne Jensen
Staff writer/The Times-Picayune
The bullet-shattered window of Thomas Gant's Ford Expedition has been replaced. So have two shot-out tires. But nine bullet holes in the vehicle's red doors are reminders of the September night when a stranger on foot opened fire on Gant and two passengers as they sat in gridlock on downtown Canal Street.
The flying bullets, which hit two bystanders, were fired just before midnight, hours after a football game at the Superdome between Southern University and Jackson State, dubbed a "mini-Bayou Classic." Canal Street and the French Quarter were buzzing with football fans and Saturday-night revelers.
John L. Marshall, the 24-year-old Baton Rouge man booked with the Sept. 23 shootings, had 16 prior arrests, including on charges of armed robbery, attempted murder and carnal knowledge of a juvenile.
That's part of the reason why Gant's anger has turned to outrage. On Friday he learned that Marshall was back on the streets after Criminal District Judge Charles Elloie slashed his bond from $45,000, set by Magistrate Judge Gerard Hansen, to $20,000 -- a not uncommon maneuver by Elloie, who has drawn fire from police, prosecutors and victims for past bond reductions that have returned violent criminals to the streets.
"It's a slap in the face," Gant said. "I'm more angry now than the night this incident happened. We caught the shooter and got his gun. He shot two people and there are bullet casings and witnesses. What more does it take?"
On Wednesday, after Gant complained to the district attorney's office, Elloie raised the bond -- not to the $150,000 sought by Assistant District Attorney Anthony Ibert but to the magistrate's recommended $45,000. In setting a deadline of today at 10 a.m. for Marshall to come up with the $5,400 that secures a bond of that size, Elloie told the defendant that he assumed it was a sum he could manage and thereby remain at liberty.
Gant isn't satisfied.
Elloie might as well have left the bond at $20,000, Gant said, still reeling from the discovery that Marshall had been in trouble with the law repeatedly. "Now that we know his past history, he shouldn't be allowed out on the streets."
In court, wearing a "Players University King of the Streets" T-shirt, Marshall had told Elloie he was in New Orleans for the Southern football game. "Why were you packing (a gun) on that day?" Elloie asked.
"I wasn't packing anything," Marshall said.
22 shots fired, cops say
But police say Marshall, after harassing Gant and his passengers, emptied a 9 mm Ruger semiautomatic into the Expedition's body, window and wheels. No one in Gant's vehicle was hit, but a man in another car and a bystander were shot in the leg and treated at Charity Hospital.
"Twenty-two shots were fired," Gant said. "Twenty-two. And it happened that quick."
Gant said his front-seat passenger Nathan McGee, an off-duty New Orleans police officer, yelled, "He's got a clip," after Marshall said something, then stood with outstretched arms as if to say, "What are you going to do?"
"All I know is, McGee told him we didn't want any trouble," Gant said.
When Marshall fled after discharging the semiautomatic, Gant and McGee pursued and tackled him, police said.
No attempt charge
Police booked Marshall, of 3849 Delton St. in Baton Rouge, with two counts of aggravated battery by shooting and one count each of aggravated assault and illegal gun possession because he is felon.
Gant would like to see him charged with attempted murder.
"I've got nine bullets in my car," Gant said. "And if that's not trying to kill you, then guess what. . . . And it was not just a few people standing around. The streets were packed."
Marshall was not charged with attempted murder because there were no aggravating factors other than the fact that the shooting followed the argument, police spokesman David Bowser said Wednesday.
"The exact motive is unclear," he said.
Police defend staffing
The shooting was not the only problem that night. Canal Place moviegoers and participants in the William Faulkner literary festival said they were trapped in their cars for hours in the mix of sauntering pedestrians and snarled traffic that choked Canal Street. Some said calls to 911 and efforts to find officers on the street proved futile.
Bowser said Wednesday that the Police Department stands by spokesman Lt. Marlon Defillo's statement a few days after the incident that extra police officers were assigned to the downtown area to handle the post-football game crowds.
Defillo said a critique of police operations is held after every special event to determine whether any changes should be made in police coverage. "You may see some changes" the next time the event is held in New Orleans, he said.
Later Wednesday, Gant offered a critique of his own as a small crowd gaped at his bullet-riddled Expedition. The criminal justice system, he said, has as many holes as his SUV.
"The system let him out,"
Gant said. "And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to imagine him doing this to someone else."
10/19/00
http://www.nola.com/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/t-p/frontpage/340625310-1019national01.html
Unfortunately, N.O. doesn't have any rocket scientists running things. Only mayor marc morial.
Arrested man back on streets
By Lynne Jensen
Staff writer/The Times-Picayune
The bullet-shattered window of Thomas Gant's Ford Expedition has been replaced. So have two shot-out tires. But nine bullet holes in the vehicle's red doors are reminders of the September night when a stranger on foot opened fire on Gant and two passengers as they sat in gridlock on downtown Canal Street.
The flying bullets, which hit two bystanders, were fired just before midnight, hours after a football game at the Superdome between Southern University and Jackson State, dubbed a "mini-Bayou Classic." Canal Street and the French Quarter were buzzing with football fans and Saturday-night revelers.
John L. Marshall, the 24-year-old Baton Rouge man booked with the Sept. 23 shootings, had 16 prior arrests, including on charges of armed robbery, attempted murder and carnal knowledge of a juvenile.
That's part of the reason why Gant's anger has turned to outrage. On Friday he learned that Marshall was back on the streets after Criminal District Judge Charles Elloie slashed his bond from $45,000, set by Magistrate Judge Gerard Hansen, to $20,000 -- a not uncommon maneuver by Elloie, who has drawn fire from police, prosecutors and victims for past bond reductions that have returned violent criminals to the streets.
"It's a slap in the face," Gant said. "I'm more angry now than the night this incident happened. We caught the shooter and got his gun. He shot two people and there are bullet casings and witnesses. What more does it take?"
On Wednesday, after Gant complained to the district attorney's office, Elloie raised the bond -- not to the $150,000 sought by Assistant District Attorney Anthony Ibert but to the magistrate's recommended $45,000. In setting a deadline of today at 10 a.m. for Marshall to come up with the $5,400 that secures a bond of that size, Elloie told the defendant that he assumed it was a sum he could manage and thereby remain at liberty.
Gant isn't satisfied.
Elloie might as well have left the bond at $20,000, Gant said, still reeling from the discovery that Marshall had been in trouble with the law repeatedly. "Now that we know his past history, he shouldn't be allowed out on the streets."
In court, wearing a "Players University King of the Streets" T-shirt, Marshall had told Elloie he was in New Orleans for the Southern football game. "Why were you packing (a gun) on that day?" Elloie asked.
"I wasn't packing anything," Marshall said.
22 shots fired, cops say
But police say Marshall, after harassing Gant and his passengers, emptied a 9 mm Ruger semiautomatic into the Expedition's body, window and wheels. No one in Gant's vehicle was hit, but a man in another car and a bystander were shot in the leg and treated at Charity Hospital.
"Twenty-two shots were fired," Gant said. "Twenty-two. And it happened that quick."
Gant said his front-seat passenger Nathan McGee, an off-duty New Orleans police officer, yelled, "He's got a clip," after Marshall said something, then stood with outstretched arms as if to say, "What are you going to do?"
"All I know is, McGee told him we didn't want any trouble," Gant said.
When Marshall fled after discharging the semiautomatic, Gant and McGee pursued and tackled him, police said.
No attempt charge
Police booked Marshall, of 3849 Delton St. in Baton Rouge, with two counts of aggravated battery by shooting and one count each of aggravated assault and illegal gun possession because he is felon.
Gant would like to see him charged with attempted murder.
"I've got nine bullets in my car," Gant said. "And if that's not trying to kill you, then guess what. . . . And it was not just a few people standing around. The streets were packed."
Marshall was not charged with attempted murder because there were no aggravating factors other than the fact that the shooting followed the argument, police spokesman David Bowser said Wednesday.
"The exact motive is unclear," he said.
Police defend staffing
The shooting was not the only problem that night. Canal Place moviegoers and participants in the William Faulkner literary festival said they were trapped in their cars for hours in the mix of sauntering pedestrians and snarled traffic that choked Canal Street. Some said calls to 911 and efforts to find officers on the street proved futile.
Bowser said Wednesday that the Police Department stands by spokesman Lt. Marlon Defillo's statement a few days after the incident that extra police officers were assigned to the downtown area to handle the post-football game crowds.
Defillo said a critique of police operations is held after every special event to determine whether any changes should be made in police coverage. "You may see some changes" the next time the event is held in New Orleans, he said.
Later Wednesday, Gant offered a critique of his own as a small crowd gaped at his bullet-riddled Expedition. The criminal justice system, he said, has as many holes as his SUV.
"The system let him out,"
Gant said. "And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to imagine him doing this to someone else."
10/19/00
http://www.nola.com/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/t-p/frontpage/340625310-1019national01.html
Unfortunately, N.O. doesn't have any rocket scientists running things. Only mayor marc morial.