June 30
June 30, 2009
Elsie Rhodes Theriot Andrews
July 2, 2009
The Bayou Blue man charged with killing a Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy on Aug. 20, 2008, will face trial next year.
Friday afternoon, District Judge Jerome Barbera set the capital murder trial of Billy J. Daigle to begin June 25, 2010.
Daigle, 42, is accused of using a stolen pickup truck to run over deputy Martha Woods-Shareef on Aug. 20 after she had responded to a burglary alarm at Nocko’s Discount convenience store in Chackbay.
Woods-Shareef, a 15-year veteran of the department, was 53 at the time of her death.
Sheriff’s deputies transported Daigle for Friday’s hearing. Daigle pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, and is being held without bond at the St. Charles Parish Correctional Center.
Defense attorneys Kerry Cuccia and Ray Bigelow, both of the Capital Defense Project of Southeast Louisiana, were present in the courtroom.
Assistant district attorneys Joseph Soignet and Stephen Caillouet were present for the prosecution.
Attorneys argued a series of motions in Barbera’s courtroom. Of those, Bigelow offered two motions to quash the death penalty on the grounds that it is unconstitutional. Defense attorneys also argued the “short form” indictment process used to detail Daigle’s charges ensured he could not receive a fair trial.
The judge rejected both motions. Barbera said he let the indictment stand because the aggravating circumstance alleged in this case is clear.
Daigle’s defense attorneys have 60 days to file motions seeking to suppress any incriminating statements made by him and to ask the judge to consider moving the trial outside of Lafourche.
Sheriff Craig Webre was present for the hearing. Though the case against Daigle is in its early stages, Webre said once the trial begins he knows his deputies will be emotional about their fallen comrade.
“The agency will be together to support each other,” Webre said. “Martha was a universally loved officer. It was like she was the mother hen for some of the younger officers. She was a spiritual person and she ministered to many on and off the job.”
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office Social Service and Crisis Management Unit will be available for officers should they need counseling while the trial progresses.
“My deputies are highly-trained individuals, but they are human,” he said. “No doubt that this is going to be a particularly difficult trial for all involved. So we will pay close attention to those deputies who responded to the robbery scene and those who were instrumental in apprehending Daigle.”
Webre said his officers should not have to go through this and Woods-Shareef should be here today.
However, the sheriff believes the judicial system failed by letting Daigle remain on the streets for so many years given his criminal history.
“He should have been held accountable for his actions years ago,” Webre said. “Martha should not have ever had to encounter a man that has not done anything positive for the community in his entire adult life.”
Billy Daigle arrives at the Lafourche Parish Courthouse Friday for pretrial motions in his first-degree murder case. * Photo by KYLE CARRIER
