Sentell's defense team tries to discredit My Bossier

I haven’t blogged on the Sherb Sentell arrest for the last couple of days because I was waiting to see what developed.
As most of you are aware, Sentell was arrested last Friday night at the Horseshoe Casino for Domestic Abuse Battery. All of the media outlets have now released the Casino videos that show what led to the arrest.
The arresting officer was my son, Bossier City Police Cpl. M. D Wells.
In his report, he noted that according to the transporting officers, one a reserve officer and one a regular officer, Sentell had “made numerous threats to sue them and adversely affect their employment with the police department by using his political influence if he were arrested.”
“They (officers) also indicated these threats had been made as they were transporting Mr. Sentell, and his statements had been recorded by Officer Vernon's in-car video system.”
Schuyler Marvin listened to the video and said that nothing that Sentell said rose to the level of intimidation. The definition, by law, of public intimidation is:
· Public intimidation is the use of violence, force, or threats upon any of the following persons, with the intent to influence his conduct in relation to his position, employment, or duty:
o Public officer or public employee.
The reserve officer was fired by BCPD, and the other officer is on paid administrative leave until the conclusion of the internal investigation.
According to the Minden Press-Herald, “Reportedly, these actions were taken Wednesday after the investigation determined that the two filed a false police report in which they indicated Sentell threatened their jobs with the department and tried to use his position to avoid arrest.”
According to the District Attorney, Sentell made no threat with the intent to influence the conduct of the officers.
Hopefully, the in-car video will be released sooner rather than later.
Also, according to the Press-Herald in referring to the charge of domestic abuse battery, “No slapping, hitting, punching or extreme violence is visible during the approximate 30-minute video. “
Okay. The law says:
A. Domestic abuse battery is the intentional use of force or violence committed by one household member upon the person of another household member.
You can judge that by all the videos that are available. What do you think? What would you think if it was your daughter or your sister?
On Wednesday morning, I had an email from Danny Lawler at The Inquisitor asking for my comments on information he had received from Sentell’s defense team.
1. That the officer (Wells) had a ‘bone to pick’ with Schuyler Marvin for dismissing an attempted homicide charge against a suspect who had committed battery on the the officer.
2. That the operator of My Bossier is the officer’s father.
3. That the father is a good friend of Judge Burchett.
I was happy to answer Danny’s questions, and I will answer them here.
Yes, I am responsible for My Bossier. That’s no secret.
I endorsed Judge Burchett in the last election, an election which was won by Mike Craig with the help of Schuyler Marvin. So far as being good friends, I know Judge Burchett but I don’t think of it in the ‘good friend’ category. I am proud, however, to call Judge Burchett a friend, and I have no regrets for supporting him last fall.
What in the world Judge Burchett has to do with this arrest, I have no idea.
One of the best friends I ever had in the world, from the time we crawled on the floor in church nursery together until we graduated from high school together, was Cecil Campbell. I still hold him in very high regard. Perhaps the defense team should consider whether or not that friendship affected the situation.
Now to the first question – does my son have a ‘bone to pick’ with the DA. My answer, and of course I can’t answer for him, is that I have never heard him say anything negative about the DA. Police officers realize that most cases end in plea arrangements out of necessity. We don’t have the court resources to try every case.
As to the incident they were referring to, I didn’t intend to blog on it and told Bossier ADA Lane Pittard that I would not. Since Sentell’s defense team brought it up, I suppose I need to do so.
In a nutshell, a man hit my son and another person with his vehicle. They were able to move out of the way and stop him. He was charged with 2 counts of aggravated battery (felony), 1 count of battery on a police officer (felony), 1 count of resisting arrest (misdemeanor) and with misdemeanor 1st DWI.
I was aware of it, and checked on it the day after his court appearance. The DA’s office had sent the misdemeanor DWI to court, accepted a $500 fine on the misdemeanor resisting charge, and nol-prossed the three felonies. I contacted Lane Pittard and asked him if it was customary to nol-pross felonies in favor of a misdemeanor charge, and he looked into it. He told me that the plea should not have gone through, and that the ADA responsible should not have done it. Lane even called in my son to explain what happened. I thanked him for his forthrightness.
Now, apparently, someone in the Bossier DA’s office passed it on to the Sentell lawyers in an effort to discredit me and to invent some ‘grudge’ that doesn’t exist. Lawyers, lawyers. They have more spin than a washing machine.
Can’t say that I’m surprised, by now everyone knows that all those guys are tighter than ticks.
Like Forrest Gump, that's all I have to say about that. For now.

Bossier Police chief says officers had no choice but to shoot man last Friday

Bossier City police chief Mike Halphen held a press conference this afternoon regarding the Friday shooting of an unarmed suspect.
Halphen said that according to his family, Scott Gray, 42, had a history of bi-polar disease. On Friday afternoon he walked into Walgreen's at Shed Road and Airline Drive, walked up to the photo counter and announced that he was Jesus Christ. When a 77 year old woman spoke up and said 'no you're not', Gray hit her and knocked her down. He then left the scene in a red pickup truck headed east on Shed Road.
Police broadcast the information to their units, knowing only that they were looking for a man with an orange cap in a red pickup. A police unit on Old Minden Road spotted the vehicle as he was approaching Old Minden Road, turned his unit around and stopped Gray's truck. Gray immediately ran from the truck and attacked the officer, pinned him to the ground and was beating him when the second officer arrived on the scene. Gray would not obey the orders of the second officer, and began to try to dislodge the first officer's service weapon.
At this time the second officer fired two shots, and after Gray still didn't stop, fired three more.
Chief Halphen noted that this was a very tragic event for Gray's family as well as for the officers involved.
I have written this based on what I heard the chief say as I watched the streaming video of the press conference on KSLA.
For more complete information, Chris Redford has a story up at KTBS.

Sentell threatened to use his 'political influence' to get officers fired

From KTBS
On the way to jail, police said, Sentell - who had told them numerous times he was a prosecutor -- threatened repeatedly to use his "political influence" against the arresting officers if he was arrested.
Sentell's comments were captured by an in-car video system, police said. What happened inside the casino was recorded by its security system.

Is everyone in Bossier Parish going nuts?

Is everyone in Bossier Parish going nuts? I don’t even have the energy to comment on these, and it’s only Monday.

• Elm Grove woman booked for threatening deputy, speeding
• Benton man arrested for fleeing officer
• Benton man charged with purse snatching, theft
• Haughton couple arrested for domestic abuse battery

Scott Gray, fatally shot by Bossier Police, had conviction for Battery on an Officer

The man who was fatally shot by Bossier City Police on Friday has been identified as Scott Gray. Gray had attacked a 77 year old woman in Walgreen’s at Shed Road and Airline shortly before being pulled over by Police on Old Minden Road at East Texas Street. Gray resisted and fought officers, and was shot. Details of the incident have not been released.
Gray had a conviction in 2002 in Bossier District Court for Battery on a Police Officer and Resisting Arrest. At that time, Judge Dewey E. Burchett, Jr. sentenced him to 4 months in jail without suspension on the battery charge, and to 2 months on resisting, which ran concurrently with the first sentence.
In addition, over the last 22 years he had several other misdemeanor charges.

Details coming out on arrest of Webster Parish ADA Sherb Sentell

According to a Times article this morning by John Andrew Prime, Webster Parish ADA C. Sherburne 'Sherb' Sentell III was charged with one count each of domestic abuse battery and public intimidation-bribery.
A Caddo Parish source who is familiar with the incident, which took place at Horseshoe Casino, told us that Sentell caught the attention of a pit boss who thought he was being abusive to his wife. When Horseshoe security and Bossier City Police approached him, he attempted to use his position to influence the arrest, saying that he would throw his own charges out.
According to my source, District Attorney Marvin was called and told the police in essence that he expected no special treatment for his assistant, to let him spend the night in jail and get a duty judge to set bail on Saturday morning.
Sentell also allegedly made a threat along the lines that someone would lose their job over this.
He may have been right on that point.

Chief Webster Parish ADA arrested

Chief Webster Parish ADA Sherb Sentell was arrested in Bossier City last night on several charges. We understand that he is being booked into the Bossier Maximum facility and will have more details as soon as they are available.
Sentell apparently was drinking and shoved his wife.

Bossier City Principal retires after throwing beer bottle at police chief's vehicle

Tim Thompson, the principal of Stockwell Place Elementary School in Bossier City has announced his retirement after being charged with DWI.
In a bizarre incident, Thompson rode by the house of Benton Police chief Charles Pilkinton and threw a beer bottle out of his vehicle, hitting Chief Pilkinton’s personal pickup truck in the process. Pilkinton followed him in the truck and called for help. A Benton Police unit and a Bossier Parish Deputy stopped Thompson.
In addition to the DWI charge, Thompson was charged with speeding, littering and with violating the open container law.
According to this KTBS video, in 1996 Thompson was charged with being a ‘peeping tom’, but those charges were dropped.
A few years ago Thompson was named in a suit along with then Superintendent Ken Kruithof when a teacher refused to remove a cross from his door that endorsed a group called ‘Stallions for Christ’.

Bossier City Doctor who wrote Lortab prescription to family dog convicted

Dr. Tandy McElwee was found guilty of prescription and health care fraud. His wife, Ava McElwee and former employee Catherine Cockrell were also convicted.
They were charged of 87 counts of obtaining lortabs with the intent to distribute. The conspiracy involved up to 7 other people.
The government charged that Dr. McElwee signed blank prescription pads and left them for his employees to dispense.
At one point, a prescription was written to Brandi McElwee. Brandi was the McElwee's dog.
Until his office was closed in 2007 after the investigation began, Dr. McElwee was a prominent OB/GYN in Bossier City.

Man killed in Bossier City Police shooting

KSLA is reporting that a Bossier City police officer has shot and killed a man after an altercation this afternoon.
Updated: The man was involved in a battery on a woman at Walgreens at Shed Road and Airline Drive. The woman was taken to Willis-Knighton.
Police caught up with the man on Old Minden Road at Texas Street, where he fought officers. No details are available at this point.
Earlier this afternoon a Shreveport Deputy Marshal fired five shots at a suspect who crashed his car into the city car.
Thursday night, a Caddo Deputy shot and killed a man on a domestic call.