New Orleans residents are still trying to figure out Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s visit to juvenile court last week. Cantrell reportedly surprised court officials with her visit and caught the District Attorney’s office off guard. More unsettling was her act of sitting with the accused armed carjacker’s mother during the proceedings.
For the victims of the then 13-year-old carjacker it was especially tough to watch the Mayor console the mother of the accused kid and then get up and walk out of court during the victim’s impact statements.
Since then, her actions have resonated through the population and commented on from the District Attorney to WWL’s own Newell Normand and Scoot.
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It turns out the now 14-year-old is a graduate of Mayor Cantrell’s Pathways Youth Internship Program. The program is a 15-week intervention course to connect with 14-to-17-year-olds to keep them from becoming enmeshed in crime.
WWL-TV also logged comments and reaction from law enforcement supporters like Donovan Livaccari, an attorney for the Fraternal Order of Police who stated, “It’s an unfortunate situation. I think disappointment is the common thread. Especially given all her visits to the station,” He continued. “This is probably going to be detrimental to recruiting efforts,” he said. “Hopefully it won't be for long.”
Another critic of the Mayor’s show of support for the defendant and not the victims came from City Council President Helena Moreno, “To show up in court to show support for someone who is now being sentenced for several carjackings, I think it sends a troubling signal,” Moreno continued. “I know that the public is very troubled by this. Particularly since we said that we are a city that is trying to help victims of crime.”
Even the District Attorney sounded off about sentencing of the accused which he says is far too light for the types of violent, armed crimes the subject was accused of perpetrating. “It was abundantly clear based on the facts, evidence, and circumstances that serious jail time was required,” Williams said. “We are extremely disappointed in the sentence that was ultimately handed down.”
Chief Juvenile Court Judge Ranord Darensburg handed down the sentence of probation for three first-degree robbery convictions, committed when the defendant was only 13.