Portia Pollack was tragically killed while getting ready to leave home in the morning and go to work. Why did this happen? Let's get right to the point. Our criminal justice system - specifically, Judge Angel Harris - let Portia down, let her family down, let the community down. You, me, all of us.
Pollack’s killer, Bryan Andry, was awaiting trial in jail for two counts of armed robbery and two counts of felony possession of a firearm. Andry's bond was set at $245,000 on the four charges. And while Andry was in jail, a detainer was placed on him for possession of goods stolen out of Jefferson parish. He was found to be driving a stolen car - frolicking around, compromising the safety and security of our communities.
Believe it or not, there is more. Before this series of criminal events started, killer Bryan Andry was out of jail on bond for a crack cocaine possession charge, for which he was due to appear in court just next week. So there it is - the information available to Judge Angel Harris and relevant to this asinine decision - describing the conduct, the quality of the character and the likelihood that this killer Andry would re-offend.
And yet - this is all from just about a six-month window. If we were to look just a little further back, we would find that the killer's record reveals a diverse repertoire of criminal conduct going back to his first year of majority, when he turned 18 and became an adult. He's 47 now. And that's all that's available to us as members of the public, because his juvenile record is sealed. So there may be more - we don't know. Judge Harris could know, but we don't.
So why reduce Andry's bond? What was the exigency? Why was it necessary to do that? So I fully understand that the defense lawyer goes in seeking a bond reduction. That's their job, to work in the best interest of their client, and obviously, the best interest of the client to get out of jail. It doesn't mean that the judge has to receive this motion. The judge has to look at it and contemplate it, but hopefully - and I doubt this - the judge took some time to look at the quality of the character of this defendant and what this defendant was up to. Had she taken five minutes to do that, she would have recognized that this is not a guy who should go back out on the streets of New Orleans.
Judge Harris was quoted last night on WDSU saying that she gave Andry the opportunity to attend a drug rehab program and that's why she reduced the bond. Why are we contemplating giving him opportunities? What opportunities did he give to his victims? Why are we concerned about that? Can you believe the audacity it takes for her to make that statement? But this is our elected representative. I guess we should all be proud.
Who is the next Bryan Andry? Because you know these defense lawyers are going to come back into this court and ask for other bond reduction hearings. And DA Jason Williams says that he's not going to oppose them. He's not standing up for you. The defense lawyers are standing up for the criminals. But you've got no one standing up for you. Judge Harris obviously has a progressive mindset. She lived here about 14 months before she got elected to this position. We elected them. Now we're stuck for another six years.
What we ought to really be concerned about is that we've got a jail house full of Brian Andrys. So who's next? Who's the next Bryan Andry that Judge Angel Harris is going to reduce the bond on? An armed robbery charge - with a bond of $25,000, because we're worried about giving Bryan Andry yet another opportunity, a man who has been in and out of jail since he was a teenager, this should be of heightened concern to us. But not you - you should not be of a heightened concern to Judge Angel Harris, nor to the DA, who doesn’t want to show up in these bond reduction hearings and stand up for you. Maybe you cast a vote for him to look out for your best interests. Be careful what you ask for - because you just got it.
If I come off as a little irritated, if I sound a little aggravated, you want to know why? I suffer with this affliction - I actually give a damn. I care. I know what the detrimental downstream implications are going to be for each and every one of these decisions because I've lived it my entire adult life. I've seen the sorrow. I felt the burden day in and day out.
I don't know how much sleep Judge Angel Harris was losing by simply leaving this criminal thug in jail awaiting trial. If she's worried about drug rehab, the best place for him to do it is in jail. That would be a start. If she was losing sleep worrying about him being in jail... may she never sleep again in light of this senseless, tragic killing.
Shame, shame, shame, shame.
May Portia Pollack rest in peace. She was a beautiful woman with a beautiful smile. She was a contributing member to our society. She was an influencer and culture bearer, a woman doing the right thing each and every day, making a difference in our community. It just doesn't make any sense.
There's no one looking out for our interests.
