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Baton Rouge man with violent past charged with old murder

On Behalf of | Oct 2, 2014 | Firm News, Murder & Other Homicide Crimes |

In some cases, under defined conditions, a person may not be charged after a set time passes following the commission of a crime. Statutes of limitation ensure police and prosecutors base criminal cases on evidence that hasn’t lost its conviction potency in some way over time, like a witness’s memory. Certain crime cases, like unsolved murders, remain open indefinitely.

A Baton Rouge man was arrested while awaiting sentencing for an attempted murder conviction. Police said neighbors in Istrouma Mohican-Prescott Crossover feared the 32-year-old, who was convicted of shooting another man eight times in January 2012. Investigators recently came across evidence linking the same defendant to a shooting death at the same apartment complex five months later.

Until recently, no one was charged with the shooting murder of a 37-year-old man, whose body was discovered in June 2012. The case was rejuvenated when a detective talked to witnesses who claimed the man, identified by the victim as the shooter in the earlier incident, also committed the murder. Police said the defendant’s motive was robbery.

The first-degree murder charge was added to the defendant’s criminal record, which included a conviction for attempted second-degree murder and illegal weapons possession. Five years ago, the defendant agreed to enter a guilty plea to aggravated assault with a firearm in exchange for a dismissal of three second-degree murder charges. Records showed attempted murder charges were brought against the man at least once before 2009.

Louisiana laws set statutes of limitations on crimes, including some felonies. However, the clock stops ticking when a person relocates outside the state, flees Louisiana or otherwise hides from authorities or is mentally incapacitated to face trial. In other words, the time adding up toward immunity from prosecution is suspended when an individual fails to remain accessible to police.

It’s not necessary to wait until an arrest occurs to ask for a criminal defense attorney’s advice.

Source: The Advocate, “Suspect arrested in two-year-old shooting death of Baton Rouge man” Ryan Broussard, Sep. 26, 2014

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