Louisiana
MS Goon Squad victim arrested on drug, gun charges in Louisiana. Bond set
Victims speak on ‘Goon Squad’ sentencing
‘Goon Squad’ victims Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker speak during a press conference after the sentencing at the Rankin County Circuit Court in Brandon, Miss., on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
Eddie Terrell Parker, one of two men who settled a civil lawsuit against Rankin County and the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department in the “Goon Squad” case, was arrested Wednesday, Dec. 17, and is being held in a northeast Louisiana jail on multiple charges.
Louisiana State Police Senior Trooper Ryan Davis confirmed details of the incident to the Clarion Ledger via phone call on Friday, Dec. 19.
Davis said Parker was traveling east on Interstate 20 in Madison Parish, Louisiana, when a trooper observed Parker committing “multiple traffic violations.” Davis said the trooper conducted a traffic stop, identified themselves and explained the reason for the stop.
Parker was allegedly found in possession of multiple narcotics, along with at least one firearm.
Parker was booked around 8 p.m. Wednesday into the Madison Parish Detention Center in Tallulah, Louisiana, on the following charges, as stated by Davis:
- Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute
- Possession of ecstasy with intent to distribute
- Possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute
- Possession of cocaine with intent to distribute
- Possession of drug paraphernalia
- Possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled substance
- Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
Details about the quantity of narcotics found in Parker’s possession were not immediately available.
Davis told the Clarion Ledger that Parker received a $205,250 bond after appearing before a judge.
Parker, along with another man named Michael Jenkins, was tortured and abused on Jan. 24, 2023, at a home in Braxton, at the hands of six former law enforcement officers who called themselves “The Goon Squad.” Parker and Jenkins filed a lawsuit in June 2023 against Rankin County and Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey.
Each of the six former Mississippi law enforcement officers involved in the incident are serving prison time for state and federal charges. Those officers were identified as former Rankin County deputies Brett McAlpin, Hunter Elward, Christian Dedmon, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke, and former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield.
Court documents show U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III issued an order on April 30 dismissing a $400 million lawsuit brought by Jenkins and Parker, saying that the two men had reached a settlement with the county and Bailey. Jenkins and Parker sought compensatory damages, punitive damages, interest and other costs.
According to court records, the case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. However, the order stated that if any party fails to comply with settlement terms, any aggrieved party may reopen the matter for enforcement of the settlement.
Jason Dare, legal counsel for the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, stated the settlement agreement totaled to $2.5 million. According to Dare, the settlement was not an admission of guilt on the county’s or the sheriff’s department’s part.
Pam Dankins is the breaking news reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Have a tip? Email her at pdankins@gannett.com.
Incarcerated people with nonunanimous jury convictions would be able to send an application for parole to the committee within its first year.
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BATON ROUGE — A bill that would allow a committee to recommend parole to incarcerated Louisiana residents who received convictions through nonunanimous jury verdicts advanced 4-3 along party lines in a Senate judiciary committee.
Senate Bill 215 would allow the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to create a committee to review the appeal records of cases with nonunanimous convictions.
Incarcerated people with nonunanimous jury convictions would be able to send an application for parole to the committee within its first year. The committee would end after three years.
Democrats and advocacy groups opposed the bill, saying it did not go far enough to correct the problems.
The bill is meant to address possibly unjust convictions that are no longer legal in Louisiana after a constitutional amendment requiring unanimous verdicts passed in 2018.
The original law, allowing for convictions on as little as a 9-3 vote, was part of the 1898 constitutional convention, and it was designed to dilute Black jurors’ votes.
Louisiana changed the requirement to a 10-2 vote during the 1973 constitutional convention. Oregon, the only other state that allowed nonunanimous juries, had the same requirement.
Under the new bill, clerks of court would provide applicants with their records free of charge, and district attorneys and victims could respond at hearings.
Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Mandeville, who wrote the bill, said the legislation was a compromise between district attorneys who believed in the validity of convictions and criminal justice advocates.
“There’s likely not a way that either of those groups can come to a full consensus, but I think it was important to have the discussions and to continue to have the discussions,” McMath said.
Bradley R. Burget, president of the Louisiana District Attorney’s Association, supported the bill.
“We’re not exactly happy with it,” Burget said. “There’s a lot of the members of the DA’s association that may not be 100% for this, but I think this is something that they can live with.”
Zachary Daniels, the association’s executive director, liked the bill’s provision giving the committee authority to determine which nonunanimous convictions are just since “many of these contain strong evidence and are valid convictions where the prosecutor played by the rules at the time.”
Before the legislative session, the association found at least 1,215 cases a committee could analyze.
Daniels said it would be impossible to retry all of these cases because witnesses, officers and victims may no longer be available, and evidence may no longer exist.
The extensive list of issues the committee could consider includes the length of jury deliberations, the strength of the state’s case, the effectiveness of the defense attorney and evidence of racism.
Former Rep. Randal Gaines, who is now chair of the Democratic Party of Louisiana, filed a similar bill in 2022 that included the same list of issues that could be reviewed.
Herman Evans, who spent 37 years in prison after a nonunanimous jury convicted him in 1989 for a second-degree murder he did not commit, opposed the bill. Even after the perpetrator confessed in 2012, Evans did not get a hearing until 2024.
“That bill ain’t going to do nothing,” Evan said. “They’ve got the parole board. They’ve got the clemency board. It’s about the same board. And it costs about the same if you bring them back and let them get denied.”
Daniels said the expected cost to implement the bill is $1.8 million, based on a study resolution written for the 2025 legislative session by Sen. Charles Owen, R-Rosepine.
Owen also filed House Bill 219 that would allow courts to have resentencing hearings for nonunanimous convictions. The House Committee on Administration has not heard the bill yet.
One issue that arose in the meeting was the governor’s impact on the committee.
The governor would appoint to the committee three retired appellate court judges or Louisiana Supreme Court justices, one retired district attorney or assistant district attorney and one retired public defender.
The district attorney and public defender appointees would come from a list of three nominations from the Louisiana District Attorneys Association and the state public defender.
Although all five members would need to agree that a conviction was unfair, the current bill would allow the governor to make final decisions on releasing applicants.
The current bill does not provide details on the governor’s power. Daniels said the bill would eventually include that language after input from attorneys from the governor’s office.
Daniels also noted that there may be some conflict between the committee’s final decision and Gov. Jeff Landry’s tough-on-crime approach.
Sarah Gozalo of the Promise of Justice Initiative expressed concerns about the governor’s ultimate power.
“If we find that miscarriage of justice, the solution is, we will ask the governor — the one person who, in 2018, opposed getting rid of nonunanimous jurors,” Gozalo said.
Other opponents of the bill suggested keeping the bill in committee until it was amended to address their concerns.
Bruce Reilly, deputy director of Voice of the Experienced, and Erica Navalance, a criminal defense attorney, recommended adding post-conviction evidence to the records the committee sees to prove claims of ineffective defense counsel or prosecutorial misconduct.
McMath declined to defer the bill.
“I think that holding it up in this committee doesn’t necessarily give the chance to continue to move on through the process, where we all know that things sometimes can change and get new input,” McMath said.
Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, who had a similar bill in 2025 that did not pass, objected to the bill’s advancement.
“Just know that this is not an easy objection for me,” Duplessis said. “And if this bill does advance, I want to continue, or at least I want to work with you, to try to find a solution, because it’s been stated repeatedly, we’re not quite there.”
LAFAYETTE — Louisiana’s success on the mound this season has started with one name at the top of the rotation: Andrew Herrmann.
The fifth-year senior has been the backbone of the Ragin’ Cajuns’ pitching staff, leading the nation in innings pitched (63.2), starts (10) and complete games (three). His durability and consistency have helped stabilize a Louisiana team that has relied heavily on its arms throughout the year.
Herrmann’s journey to this point, however, hasn’t been smooth.
Throughout his collegiate career, he battled shoulder injuries that impacted his velocity and threatened to derail his development. Instead of fading, Herrmann adjusted, dedicating significant time to rehabilitation and refining his mechanics.
He credits pitching coach Taylor Sandefur for helping him regain form and confidence on the mound.
The work has paid off, as Herrmann has emerged not only as a statistical leader, but also as an emotional cornerstone for the team.
“This team, I mean the amount of hours we put out on the baseball field just working together,” Herrmann said. “I’d die for this team. I’d die for each one of those guys. … Just being able to work with those guys and see the effort that they put in each day has really kind of drawn me to it.”
For Herrmann, the season is about more than numbers. In his final year, his focus is on leaving a lasting impact on the program and helping elevate those around him.
Louisiana will look to continue its momentum this weekend with a three-game Sun Belt road series at Troy. The series opener is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m.
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