It was a busy March in the Caddo Parish Courthouse. Among cases of note:
* A Shreveport teen who shot and killed Booker T. Washington high student three years ago was convicted of second-degree murder March 28. Eric Dewayne Green, 19, was unanimously convicted by the eight-woman, four-man jury in District Judge John D. Mosley Jr.’s court after an hour’s deliberation.
When Green returns to Judge Mosley’s court April 14 for sentencing, he faces a mandatory life term. However, since Green was a juvenile at the time of the slaying he will be eligible eventually for parole.
* A Caddo Parish man whose felony record prevents him from owning or possessing or owning a gun, was found guilty of that crime March 27. Rodrick Hicks, who turned 31 that day and was out on bond, failed to return to court for the afternoon part of his trial, and is being sought on a bench warrant.
The eight-man, four-woman jury in District Judge Donald E. Hathaway Jr.’s court returned its unanimous guilty verdict at 3 p.m. after 40 minutes of deliberation, following a delay caused by Hicks’ absence.
Once Hicks is apprehended and a sentencing date is set, he faces a prison term of at least five and up to 20 years at hard labor without the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.
* The Caddo Parish Grand Jury returned three true bills in its session that ended March 25. The separate indictments each charged three Shreveporters with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the December 27, 2024 deaths of two cousins, Tristavian Datcher and Jakeva Datcher.
The two Datchers, both 21 years old, were gunned down in west Shreveport. Jakeva Datcher was shot several times in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 5600 block of South Lakeshore Drive. She was found in the back seat of an SUV in the 3000 block of Curtis Lane and was pronounced deceased at the scene. Tristavian Datcher was shot in the 5600 block of South Lakeshore Drive. The Shreveport Fire Department transported him to Ochsner LSU Health hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds.
Alissa Loreaunna Rogers, 19, was charged in indictment No. 405924. Deaiviantan Deshun Davis, 21, was charged in indictment No. 405935. Rufus Odell Anderson, also 21, was charged in indictment No. 405928.
All three are incarcerated in Caddo Correctional Center pending trial, with $1 million bonds set on each count.
* A Shreveport man accused of killing a convenience store clerk in 2022 was convicted in Caddo District Court March 26. It took the six-woman, six-man jury in District Judge Donald E. Hathaway Jr.’s court less than two hours to unanimously convict Damion Sherfield, 23, of the February 15, 2022 second-degree murder of Roderick Walker, 29.
Sentencing will be April 9. Under Louisiana law, Sherfield faces a mandatory life sentence without possibility of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. Judge Donald Hathaway presided over the trial.
* A Shreveport man who abused a teen male relative for more than a year was sentenced March 18 to serve two decades in prison after he was found guilty of two counts of sexual battery last December by a Caddo Parish jury. District Judge Brady O’Callaghan sentenced Reginald Lee Fisher, 61, to 10 years on each count, with the hard-labor terms to be served consecutively. Fisher also must register as a Tier 2 sex offender for 25 years upon release. He was convicted December 17, 2024.
* A Shreveport woman convicted in January of a variety of felony gun charges must serve the better part of four decades in prison, a Caddo judge ordered. Keatre Monique Daniels, 32, was sentenced March 18 by District Judge Chris Victory to serve 20 years without benefit of probation, parole or reduction of sentence for conviction on being a felon in possession of a firearm. She also was sentenced to two years at hard labor for illegal use of a weapon and 15 years at hard labor for aggravated second-degree battery. The terms are to be served consecutive to each other for a total of 37 years.
* A Shreveporter who robbed a man of his rifle and then shot the victim in his neck, killing him, was found guilty of manslaughter and related crimes in Caddo District Court March 12. It took a seven-man, five-woman jury in District Judge Chris Victory’s court an hour to find SirElderick Hays, 25, guilty as charged of armed robbery and felon in possession of a weapon, and responsively guilty of manslaughter. Hays was convicted of simple robbery in 2017, a felony that prevents him from owning or possessing a firearm.
Judge Victory remanded Hays pending sentencing April 16, when he faces a total of 159 years in prison: up to 40 years for the manslaughter conviction, at least five and up to 20 years for the felon in possession of a weapon charge, and at least 10 years and up to 99 years for the armed robbery conviction.
* A Minden man who battered and injured a police officer and fled during a traffic stop and arrest in Greenwood pleaded guilty in Caddo District Court March 11. Preston Burns, 36, waited until 12 jurors had been sworn in District Judge Ramona Emanuel’s court and the officer he injured during the speeding traffic stop in June 2023, testified. That was when he pleaded guilty as charged.
Judge Emanuel sentenced Burns to five years at hard labor with 30 days to be served without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence for the conviction of battery of a police officer with an injury requiring medical attention, three years at hard labor for resisting a police officer with force or violence and four years at hard labor for simple escape. The resisting and battery charges are to run concurrently but will be consecutive to the term for simple escape, required under Louisiana law.
* A Shreveport man who pleaded guilty in Caddo District Court last month to domestic violence must serve 13 years in prison, a judge has ordered. Barkalski Clark, 42, must serve five years at hard labor for aggravated assault of a dating partner and also must serve eight years at hard labor for battery of a dating partner with serious bodily injury. Judge Donald E. Hathaway Jr. ordered the terms to run consecutively, for a total of 13 years.
* A Shreveport man convicted last month for domestic violence was sentenced in Caddo District Court March 12 to 29 years in prison. Nakadrian Oshee Sanders, 24, who battered his live-in girlfriend and strangled her to unconsciousness September 24, 2024, was sentenced by District Judge Donald E. Hathaway Jr. Sanders has two prior convictions for domestic violence, in Bossier Parish in 2020 and in Caddo in 2021.
For his conviction on domestic abuse battery strangulation, resulting in serious bodily injury, Sanders received a term of 25 years under Louisiana Revised Statute 14:35.3L(2) that went into effect in 2024. The law recognizes that strangulation is an exceptionally dangerous type of physical attack; it provides a penalty of five to 50 years if the offender strangles the victim to the point of unconsciousness, as happened in this case. Sanders pressed his victim against a wall in their apartment, placed both hands around her neck and strangled her with such force that he lifted her off her feet until she went unconscious.
Sanders also was sentenced to four years at hard labor for domestic abuse battery, with Judge Hathaway ordering the sentences to run consecutively, for a total of 29 years.
* A man charged in connection with a 2021 shooting death pleaded guilty to manslaughter March 10, just as his trial was set to begin. Datavious Simmons, 23, immediately was sentenced to 18 years at hard labor by District Judge Ramona Emanuel.
As always, thank you to the jurors who reported to serve, DA staff, court and sheriff staff, the attorneys and judges for their hard work in bringing these cases and so many others to a close. Your continuous and dedicated hard work is not unnoticed.
I hope you all have a wonderful Easter holiday.
At your service,
James E. Stewart, Sr.
Caddo Parish District Attorney