It’s now been 20 months since that 17-year-old girl was RAPED twice in a jail cell in the Union Parish Detention Center in April 2016 and there still has been no resolution to the ongoing investigation by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry.
Because the detention center is administered by a committee that includes the local district attorney, he properly recused himself and the case was turned over to the attorney general for investigation.
To refresh, the girl was brought to the detention center after being found high on meth. Demarcus Shavez Peyton, 28, of Homer, was being held in the center awaiting a scheduled sentencing for his conviction of aggravated rape.
Sometime on the night of April 19, he was released from his cell and he entered the girl’s cell and raped her twice.
So, what’s to investigate? The victim is known. The perpetrator is known. The date is known. The location, a tiny, restricted jail cell, is known. It just doesn’t make sense that the “investigation” is taking so long when Landry is so quick to jump on every decision or action of Gov. John Bel Edwards.
It seems from my perspective that Landry is spending more time and energy on watching every move of Edwards and preparing his own run for governor rather than concentrating on his own job duties.
For that reason, I started making monthly checks into the progress of the investigation. Here’s one response to my first inquiry from his press secretary:
From: Wisher, Ruth [mailto:WisherR@ag.louisiana.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2017 11:25 AM
To: ‘Tom Aswell’ <azspeak@cox.net>
Subject: RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST
Mr. Tom,
This matter is under investigation, therefore I cannot comment on the specifics or answer questions at this time.
That has been the consistent response to my monthly update request, including the latest:
From: AG Landry News
Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2017 10:02 AM
To: Tom Aswell
Subject: RE: FOLLOW UP: STATUS
Good morning,
This is an ongoing investigation therefore I cannot comment on any specifics.
And that’s not the only case of Landry’s foot-dragging on cases other than the low-hanging fruit he seizes upon for his regular press releases to display his tough on crime stance.
When an employee of the DeSoto Parish district attorney’s office cashed more 580 money orders at the DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office—money orders that amounted to something on the order of $130,000—the district attorney recused himself from the investigation on the basis of his being the victim of the theft. Accordingly, he called upon the attorney general’s office to conduct the investigation.
That was in February 2014, during the administration of Landry’s predecessor, Buddy Caldwell, the singing attorney general. Caldwell’s record was no better than Landry’s but when Landry came into office, the case continued to languish with neither attorney general ever filing any documents with the court.
The employee worked in the district attorney’s worthless checks and diversion programs, responsible for overseeing the case files, accepting payments from defendants, and recording receipts of payments.
A federal grand jury finally indicted her, charging than when she would direct defendants to pay with money orders with the recipient’s and remitter’s names left blank. She would then accept money orders for payments. Instead of recording the payment, she would notate the cases nolle pros, or charges rejected and then enter her name as the payee and cash the money orders at the sheriff’s office.
But Caldwell apparently was too busy with his Elvis impersonations and Landry was too involved in grinding out his daily press releases to burnish his reputation as a modern-day Marshall Dillon to waste time on remote parishes like DeSoto and Union.
Let’s face it: A felon in DeSoto Parish and a teenage meth addict rape victim in Union Parish aren’t likely to generate much sympathy or many votes in his run for governor.
A man trying to establish a reputation as a straight-shootin’, straight-talkin’ tough-on-crime politician still has to be pragmatic, after all.
Very good points. I just wish he would slow down with the trying to become the next Governor part because I think it is only hurting his image.
I think he will get to all those cases but it will take more time. I think the prosecutor is overloaded with work and that could be biggest part of the problem. They should hire more help and get it done.
We all have to remember that there is so, so much wrongdoing that they will never catch up. With just what Tom has exposed and sent in they have enough for ten life times. Tom has become a legal hound dog and maybe they should hire him to catch up and clean up in that office. They clean up two things and Tom exposes twenty more. Now that is what I call getting down to business. That in itself speaks volumes in my opinion.
Tom, did you ever think about applying for the investigator job or any job at the AG office because they sure could use your knowledge of how to get the job done and done right.? At the speed the A.G. office is going some of the victims and criminals might be dead before they see any kind of justice and that would be really sad.
I think if the A.G. finished those important cases and makes a name for himself doing so then that certainly would seal his spot in the Governors office but if
he doesn’t handle some of these important cases within a reasonable time frame then he won’t be trusted to run the Governors office and he will loose.
I voted for him and I trust him to finish the job but once again, he is probably running on triple overload and that kind of schedule gets boring after a while. I know I would run out of patience really, really quick having to deal with all the corruption in this State. Day after day, week after week, month after month, that has to be depressing after a while. All we can do is pray for him to get the jobs done and do the best job he can do. He sure is a hell of a lot better than what was in there before him and at least we have that to be thankful for. Things didn’t get corrupt over night and it won’t get cleaned up overnight. I truly feel sorry for him because he has one very large, sloppy, full plate of mess to handle each day. We have to give him an A for at least trying to keep things moving.
I think his heart is in the right place and he truly wants to do the right thing for the State otherwise he would have not ran for the job. Who would subject themselves to such abuse if they didn’t care about the State of Louisiana?
He hired a convicted felon for his fraud division as political payback for her mother’s endorsement. He interceded in a lawsuit against oil companies after taking a half-million dollars from oil companies! Police found cocaine in his home…while he was employed as a deputy. How much evidence do you need to see to be convinced Jeff Landry is a snake?
Oh, wait. I forgot. He also snubbed Obama so anything else he did is just dandy in your eyes.
Well said.
Wow Buck I did not know any of this stuff. Thanks for the information.
No, you are wrong that this is just dandy in my eyes, I despise crooked politicians.
I had absolutely no knowledge of this before you mentioned it but you can bet your oatmeal in the morning he won’t be getting himself elected Governor since he has been outed by you.
Would you happen to have some articles related to this so I can catch up on some of this stuff because I would love to read them. I hate crooked politicians. I live in Terror-bonne and have been exposed to self serving, all connected at the hip, think they are the best thing since slice bread kind of people for over 40 years now and I hate it. They all stick together like glue and now that I know this, I fully understand now just how they are managing to keep things “their way.” They just align themselves with the same caliber people and everything is good to go. Oh wait, that is until they die and go to hell, that is when the real party will begin, huh? God is good!!!
I always try to be fair and give someone time to do what they were elected to do but I sure was waiting for a pile of pure de raw chit to turn into gold on this one if what you said is true and I don’t think you would have posted this if it wasn’t . Without you telling me this I would have been waiting until hell froze over and thawed out again and over and over again until I was dizzy waiting for change. What a shame? I am tired of funding this corruption and it seems we will never get anybody in there to do the right thing for the people. These self serving people should all be ashamed of themselves but they walk around like proud peacocks while they just use up our tax money. I am tired of paying for their corrupt selves to play.
I think the ONLY thing that will catch their attention is for everybody to stop
paying their taxes and demand that this corruption gets corrected NOW!
I honestly believe that is the only thing that will capture their attention. As long as we keep paying for them to play why should they give a dam about any of us. Stopping the Benjamins would get their attention– I can promise you that one–that is the only thing they will ever understand—the buck would then stop not with them but with all of us–think about what a beautiful world it would be then–the taxpayer, the people, would be in control then–these thugs wouldn’t know what to do with themselves. The emergency rooms would suddenly become full because they would all be having chest pains because they wouldn’t have our money to play with anymore. What in the hell would they do then? Live with it, like they have been making all of us do for years. Pay back is a Bitch and I think it would work, I really truly do and when the next politician got up in there, then they would know what to do with our money because they would have gotten a damn good taste of what it is like to go without to pay those taxes.
Sorry Buck I got a little carried away but I just get so damn frustrated with these crooked sons of blank, blank, blank because I so want things to be done like they should be done for the sake of all of our future and the future of our children. Sad to say these people really don’t care because by the time their children grow up they will probably replace some of the crooked ones in office now and the cycle will start all over again. Just another re-run of trash over and over again and we, the people are the blame for letting it all happen.
I am so grateful to you Buck, thanks.
If he can’t do the simplest of jobs why would anyone elect him to another term or office? Are these cases getting ignored due to a political request? He really should answer at this point.
Amen to that one!
Sorry, I skipped this sentence, shouldn’t the feds have come in already?
I wouldn’t know why the feet are dragging in this case, but like you Tom , I do know that this should be a slam dunk as far as getting a conviction. That brings other thoughts to mind also. I can imagine pressure being applied from somewhere to slow it down or stop it altogether. A conviction would certainly help the civil suit that had been filed in this case and it’s not hard to figure who would prevail in that and the financial situation in that parish being a rural area I’m certain is not flush with cash. I would bet, if the dots could be identified and then connected you would find between a dot or dots and Mr. Landry .
I would like to add what I think is the rest of what is wrong with Louisiana also.
You have to remember the Governor we have now in office is the same Governor who picked Edmonson as the head of State Police and we all know what happened with that disaster. He is not so innocent either because he picked Edmonson twice and now look at the mess we are in with the State. All the theft that he has committed was a result of Edwards making a really bad choice. It took Tom and Lee Zurik to expose it all and Edwards did step up to the plate to replace him but I think it was only done because he had no choice but to replace him because Edmonson made Edwards look bad.
.
Tom has mentioned before on this blog the agencies that have the most power in this State. The Sheriffs Association was one of them that he mentioned. Remember, Governor Edwards father was a Sheriff and his brother is a Sheriff also. Wasn’t his brother being investigated in the parish where he serves? It is hard to trust someone who was brought up in the thick of the mix because we all know if someone grows up in a powerful environment and they have been dipping their bread in gravy under a protected agency, then they already know just how things are done. This falls under when they leave their children take over concept I mentioned in a previous post.
What I can’t understand about the Sheriffs Association is that they defend any Sheriff that Is involved in wrong doing. If a Sheriff is involved in example: drug dealing, malfeasance, etc, why would they defend this person? It makes no sense to me. The only reason I could think of for them to do so is if they would be involved In wrongdoing themselves. Could this be the reason why things never get cleaned up? I am just asking because it makes absolutely no sense to me for them to defend a person that has done the wrong thing or broken the laws of the State, the very State they serve. Sounds like a butt backwards deal to me unless I am missing something. I think they should get rid of the Sheriffs Association and the State Police Association also. Both Associations seem to cause more harm then good.
The precious word POWER. When are these people going to get up in the morning and realize that the only person who has any real power is the Lord up above? When he decides to come down and clean house none of them, no matter what damn Association they belong too will have the power to go to the restroom on their own. All I can advise these people in high places to do is to buy themselves some damn good fire insurance because when they get to hell they will need it.
Hiding behind a badge to do wrong is not going to save them. It is people like Edmonson and others like him that make it so difficult for the public to respect law-enforcement today. That is why we are having so much turmoil in the country today. The people who really know what is going on don’t trust law enforcement anymore and that is so, so sad because all the good ones are having to suffer for the bad ones and the Associations are helping them to continue with what they have been getting away with for years and years.
Honestly, I think we need a change in just about every political position in this State. When they stay in there too long that is when the corruption that is already in the making continues. It is up to the voters to make those positive changes for the good of every citizen in the state. Keep the good ones in as long as they are doing the right thing and get rid of the bad ones to keep the State moving in a positive direction.
GET RID OF BOTH THE STATE POLICE AND SHERIFFS ASSOCIATON.
LET’S KEEP MOVE THIS STATE FORWARD.
WE HAVE BEEN GOING BACKWARDS LONG ENOUGH DON’T YA THINK/
The Terrebonne Parish President, Gordon Dove, involved in fee fixing scheme which allows his friends and cronies undervalue construction cost and paying considerably less for permits from Terrebonne planning department. He has also convinced the Terrebonne council to to cancel contract for code inspection process by the south central planning and development commission, independent body, and allow Terrebonne parish government to do it in house under the fraudulent claim of saving money. This decision will put politics back into this process and cost taxpayers more in insurance cost and wasteful government patronage activities. I invite Louisiana Voice to look into yet another one of Dove’s poor governance decision.
Wayne Thibodeaux Concerned Citizen and Planning Commisioner 985-381-0177
Sent from my iPad
>
Barbarablarpenter,
The corruption can only be stopped by wiping the slate clean and draining the swamp. The corruption goes way beyond State Police and Edmonson. It includes Sheriff’s Association puppets like Jimmy LeBlanc at Department of Corrections and Butch Browning at the State Fire Marshal.
To further their corruption, agencies like the AG, OIG, and Legislative Auditor have been turning a blind eye to all of this, not just in the current Administration but for eight years of the previous administration. It was not until this year the Legislative Auditor initiated an investigative audit into State Police. This occurring after Edmonson was gone. Could it be, Edmonson’s Sister n Law holds a high level management position in that office? It was not until the departure of the Cain Dynasty at Corrections ended that some of the corruption was investigated. Could it be the OIG’s budget is controlled by legislators loyal to the Sheriff’s Association for political support? Could it be the AG needs the backing of District Attorneys and Sheriff’s not to create waves and thus drag his feet? Many had high hopes of Jeff Landry, and are now being disappointed.
Again, nothing will happen until focus is brought on the root cause of the overall corruption. This being the Good Ole Boy network of political influence at the Sheriff’s Association buying and paying for our elected and appointed officials.
I ordinarily agree with you and defer to your knowledge in specific areas, but I have to disagree at least with regard to your assertions about the Legislative Auditor. It is unfortunate that many state employees have spouses or other relatives who also work for the state, but it is apparent to me the Legislative Auditor has taken particular pains to ensure the reports from that office are objective regardless of who works there. Furthermore, if you go to the Legislative Auditor’s website you will find reports like this one that go way back:
https://app.lla.state.la.us/PublicReports.nsf/4833D578ED40667F862573CB006885D7/$FILE/000039A9.pdf
No, I’m sorry, the fault does not lie with any of the watchdogs to whom you point, regardless of their effectiveness or objectivity – It lies with the people who should be paying attention to what is going on in this state and should be actually doing something about it. I can report a crime 50 times and if nothing happens as a result, what have I accomplished?
Read this letter from today’s ADVOCATE:
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/letters/article_b248b7f0-da2f-11e7-bbc3-cb1cdb53498f.html
This person places the blame squarely where it lies. I have posted these same sentiments everywhere I post anything. The lack of accountability is, to me, the number one, far and away, issue in this state and few seem to care – even the same taxpayers who carp about being taxpayers. We have a governor. We also have a commissioner of administration. At least a dozen high-ranking officials/department heads report directly to the governor. Is it unreasonable to expect accountability from the highest ranking person in our state for the actions of his appointees?
Stephen you are so correct .and I agree with you 1000%.
Should we all sign a petition and have someone hand deliver it to the Governor?
Do you think he would really care about what we think?
Do you believe that he would change any of his appointee positions to someone new?
Do you believe that he would even bother to check any of our complaints out without the media exposing him and forcing him to do it?
Do you honestly think that this Governor doesn’t know just exactly what is going on in each department?
Does he really care unless someone stumbles upon something and gets the media involved to expose it like the Edmonson saga?
I don’t think it is unreasonable at all to hold this Governor responsible for the accountability of his appointees. The only problem is what will he do if he finds that one of them is not doing the right thing? Will he handle the problem at this point or just look the other way? No one is ever going to tell me that he did not know what Edmonson was doing all along, come on, how could he not know. It was his responsibility to know. The only reason he did anything about it was because Tom and Zurik forced his hand. He is an elected official and when any one of them get in they are part of the solution or part of the problem.
I’ll let you and the rest of the people decide just where Edwards stands on this one.
Barbara, you ask a lot of important questions to which I have no definitive answers. It is, however, hard for me to believe that the governor can be content to let the media destroy the public’s confidence in state government by airing its dirty linen and not make a move to show he cares and is doing something to correct things that are endemic. I guess what seems like plain common sense to me isn’t to him.
You are correct Tarnished but how do we get rid of this network because they are so tight together. They are the ones who keep things their way and it really doesn’t matter what we do after they make their moves.
I hate to hear the damn name Sheriffs Association because if these people are responsible for protecting Jerry Larpenter than they should go hide their face in shame in their own rear ends because all they have been protecting is a damn self serving idiot who just happened to be related to Charlton P. Rozands who was under indictment before he died and put Jerry in as his chief deputy. Rozands has been known to have ties to Carlos Marcello and the rest is history. Jerry has become like “Little Hitler” doing just the hell what he wants to do and no one is going to touch him. Doesn’t anyone at that so called Sheriffs Association have any intestinal fortitude to stop this madness? If not, what a bunch of wusses while they stand there acting all that and tuff.
Go back and read Brilab, Tarnished and then you and everyone else will see why Jerry Larpenter got so damn upset about ExposeDat. A damn crook never changes it stripes. When I started bashing Jerry years ago, everybody said I was crazy but they sure as hell don’t think I am so crazy anymore. You have to follow the Benjamins and it will lead you to the crooks every time.
Maybe the OIG needs someone higher than them to check their non compliant backsides out like maybe the Feds need to come in and clean all this crooked mess up once and for all. I just can’t stand this corruption anymore and I hate posting using the words I have to use but the damn truth is the damn truth. Sugar coating this mess doesn’t get you any where and I am damn tired of being polite. These damn crooks don’t understand polite. They wouldn’t know polite if it stared them in their damn corrupt faces.
I still say that none of them crooked thugs would be able to continue to get away with what they have been doing if they didn’t have our tax money to continue this corruption. Take away their Benjamins and that will clean up the corruption. I have been at this a very long time and I am sick and tired of this corruption in this State. This white hair on my head means old but surely not stupid and I said it before and I am going to keep saying it:
TAKE AWAY THIER BENJAMINS. LET THEM SONS OF ——–FUND THEIR OWN DAMN CORRUPTION THEMSELVES WITH THEIR OWN DAMN MONEY AND LEAVE THE TAXPAYERS KEEP THEIR MONEY TO DO THE RIGHT THINGS FOR THEMSELVES.
All the churches in the area all always calling for an uprising and rightfully so, but if we keep our own money then that would be the best uprising our eyes could ever open to see. These corrupt Associations, their crooked networks that they formed for themselves would crumble without our money and that would end it all for all of them. Cut their lifeline: Our Benjamins. Then all we have to do after that is sit back and watch them crooked s.o;.b.’s smother
because they wouldn’t be able to make it on their own. They don’t have the
intestinal fortitude to do it without the rest of us. They would all shrivel up and die because they would be do damn lazy to go get it like the rest of us have done for their corrupt selves for all these years.
Hit them where it hurts the most, in their dam pocket books!!
Stephen I think sometimes when people have too much college education that perhaps they are lacking in common sense. This might just be one good example of that situation. Sometimes depending on who it is, I refer to these kind of folks as college educated idiots.
Whatever his reasons are the end result is sad because it is a bad reflection on all of us who have to live in this situation daily. It seems like we have no place to go to for this to get any better anytime soon.
Thank God for good reporters like Tom Azwell and Lee Zurik otherwise we would be up a creek without a paddle because we are already drowning in corruption. I just can’t stand anymore of it and I know that I am not the only person who is sick of it, the whole damn state has had enough. Maybe we need to all show up on the State Capitol steps in large numbers for them to hear us or maybe we all should show up at the Governors Mansion and refuse to leave until they get their crap in order. I just don’t know anymore. All I know is that I am sick and tired of paying while they are playing.
If anybody else has any solutions please offer them up because this State needs all the help we can get. I really don’t care if this person never finished school or they graduated from Harvard, if this person can clean this up, then Bravo to them. Enough is enough!!!