New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was spotted in Juvenile Justice Court Friday sitting with the family of an accused juvenile violent carjacker during his trial.
According to WWL-TV, two women who were victims of the alleged criminal testified that he was the man brandishing a gun and demanding the women surrender their vehicles to him.
The broadcaster asked one woman to describe the carjacking. The victim related: “There was a white car catty-corned blocking me in and next thing I turn and there's yelling, and there's a gun barrel in my face. The kid is yelling to get the "F out the car, get the F out the car," or else he'll shoot, so thinking I might die in that moment, my life flashed before my eyes, I complied."
Much to the surprise of the five victims of this defendant's crime spree, the perpetrator was sentenced to just three years probation with at home monitoring and no jail time.
The response to the light sentence came fast from District Attorney Jason Williams who stated: "It was abundantly clear based on the facts, evidence, and circumstances that serious jail time was required… We are extremely disappointed in the sentence that was ultimately handed down."
But what is shocking for the victims of the crime, is that Mayor Cantrell found herself on the wrong side of the issue, and in Criminal Superior Court Juvenile Justice Court.
"She was sitting on the side of the attacker. She was sitting next to his mom," One of the victims said. "She was there for his mom and she wasn't there for us. She was there for the crime."
DA Williams office responded to the Mayor’s appearance in court, “Nobody at the DA's Office, myself included, was given advance notice of the Mayor's presence or can provide any context for her participation at yesterday's hearing."
WWL-TV reached out to the Mayor’s office about the appearance in court, but calls were not returned.