Posted: Nov 10, 2015 3:25 PM CST
Updated: Nov 10, 2015 3:26 PM CST
Public records requests denied; FBI “in constant communication” on Marksville case
The Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Marksville Police Department have denied public records requests filed by KATC regarding the investigation of Marksville Marshals Derrick Stafford and Norris Greenhouse Jr.
The officers have been booked on state charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. The Louisiana State Police is leading the investigation, and the state attorney general’s office is prosecuting the case.
Greenhouse and Stafford are accused of fatally shooting 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis and wounding his father, Chris Few, last Tuesday. A lawyer for Few said a police body camera recorded the father with his hands up and posing no threat as police fired into his car.
KATC and several other media outlets have requested copies of internal investigations, complaints, employment histories, personnel records and more from multiple law enforcement organizations.
The sheriff’s office and the police departments are citing the gag ordered issued by a judge as the reason for denying the records requests. District Judge William Bennett issued the gag order after Few’s lawyer told The Associated Press about events that happened yesterday in the closed-door bond hearing for Stafford and Greenhouse.
An FBI spokesman says federal authorities are in “constant communication” with state investigators about last week’s fatal shooting of a 6-year-old boy by law enforcement officers in a central Louisiana city.
The officers, 32-year-old Derrick Stafford and 23-year-old Norris Greenhouse Jr., have been booked on state charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. The Louisiana State Police is leading the investigation, and the state attorney general’s office is prosecuting the case.
Craig Betbeze, a spokesman for the FBI’s New Orleans division, said in an email Tuesday to The Associated Press that he can’t elaborate on why the FBI and Justice Department’s civil rights division have been communicating with the State Police about the case.
Col. Mike Edmonson said the State Police routinely shares case information with the FBI and will in this case, too.
http://theadvocate.com/news/police/13941619-32/father-of-marksville-officer-putting
Father of Marksville officer accused of murdering 6-year-old putting together $1M in land to help son post bond
Nov. 10, 2015; 5:54 p.m.
by maya lau
mlau@theadvocate.com
The father of one of the Marksville officers accused of shooting and killing a boy last week is arranging to put up $1 million worth of his land for his son’s release from jail, an official said.
Avoyelles Parish Sheriff Doug Anderson said Norris Greenhouse Sr. is using land in that parish and in East Baton Rouge Parish to secure a property bond for his son, Norris Greenhouse Jr., 23, who was arrested Friday on murder and attempted murder counts in the shooting that injured Chris Few, 25, and killed Few’s 6-year-old son, Jeremy Mardis.
No bail arrangements have been made for Derrick Stafford, 32, the other officer facing the same counts in the shooting, Anderson said.
The soonest Norris Greenhouse Jr. could be released is Thursday, because government offices are closed Wednesday for Veterans Day, Anderson said.
On Monday, 12th Judicial District Court Judge William J. Bennett set bail for the two officers at $1 million in cash or property. The lawmen also would be subject to home incarceration via electronic monitoring and would have to surrender their badges and weapons if they post bail. Anderson said as part of the bond plan, the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office would take out a mortgage on Norris Greenhouse Sr.’s property.
If the officer fails to show up at court, “I can come back and sell the land at sheriff’s sale and go hunt this boy,†Anderson said.
Both officers, who were moonlighting for the Marksville Ward 2 marshal at the time of the shooting, are being held at the Rapides Parish Detention Center, but bond is being handled through the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The FBI is playing a role in Louisiana State Police’s investigation into the shooting, said FBI spokesman Craig Betbeze.
“This is an ongoing investigation with LSP as the lead investigative agency. LSP, FBI, USAO, and DOJ Civil Rights Division are in constant communication regarding this matter,†he said in an email.
The District Attorney’s Office in Avoyelles Parish has recused itself from the case, noting that Norris Greenhouse Sr. is an assistant district attorney with the office. The state Attorney General’s Office will handle the prosecution.
Meantime, several public records requests were denied Tuesday due to Bennett’s gag order issued Monday forbidding the attorneys, the accused, the victims, the witnesses and law enforcement to talk to the media about the case. The prohibition came shortly after Few’s attorney, Mark Jeansonne, told a reporter his client had his hands up when police fired.
Some officials interpreted the ban as extending to information not directly related to the Marksville shooting case. Marksville Police Chief Elster Smith denied a query by The Advocate for all of the department’s policies, citing the gag ruling.
The order says it aims to protect the defendants’ right to a fair trial. “All parties to this proceeding and their attorneys, including any potential witnesses, victims and/or their attorneys are hereby prohibited, directly or indirectly or through any third parties, from providing any information and/or evidence and/or alleged evidence to the press,†the ruling says.
State Police refused to release the warrants in the case to multiple media outlets with requests for the public records pending since last week. Several other officials said they could not discuss topics related to Marksville, citing the gag order, even if the questions had nothing to do with the criminal cases of Stafford and Norris Greenhouse Jr.
Advocate staff writer Bryn Stole contributed to this report.