Parade shooter charged
February 2, 2016
Gilbert Bergeron
February 3, 2016
Normally the area around the Terrebonne Parish courthouse is so busy with people coming and going on weekdays you would think they were giving away treasure someplace, instead of charging fines and fees. On Main Street the restaurants are bursting with people.
This wasn’t the case for most of last week, however.
Tuesday at Castelano’s, a place where I usually treat myself to a Reuben sandwich platter if downtown on business, the wait for the plate was short and there were few regular customers to be seen. The angelus bells tolling at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral echoed with seemingly greater volume at School and Goode streets, so devoid of people and activity that it could have been Sunday morning.
This was because of the trial taking place inside the courthouse annex, of a sociopath named Terry Smith, who was convicted Thursday of aggravated rape and other charges related to his inability to curb lustful urges toward his step-daughter, which began when she was 10-years-old and continued into her teens. A younger step-daughter was similarly victimized. Because of his adherence to a philosophy linked to people who have a tendency to shoot cops, the Sovereign Citizens, major security precautions were taken that included elimination of all but necessary court business during the trial. Smith is accused of involvement in an incident that resulted in the shooting deaths of two St. John Parish deputies in 2012, and the wounding of another. Terry Smith allegedly drove the pickup from which his son fired at an officer. According to police reports when the son asked if he should shoot at the cops Terry Smith said nothing, and the carnage ensued. He faces a charge of being a principal to attempted first-degree murder of a police officer, in connection specifically to the wounding.
His son, Brian Smith, along with a man named Kyle Joekel, face capital charges.
During the rape trial, in the last row of Judge Randy Bethancourt’s courtroom, two pairs of eyes paid special attention to the proceedings. Mike and Edie Triche stayed from gavel to gavel. Their son, Jeremy Triche, is one of the officers who was killed.
“Unfortunately with the death of our son, that is where evidence came to light that they were being molested,” Mike explained. A search warrant for Terry Smith’s computer resulted in the discovery of disturbing video that was viewed by jurors.
The Triches, and everyone else, thought that Brian Smith would testify on behalf of his father, and even greater precautions were put in place because of this. But at the last minute that was reversed. Testifying for his father would have meant Brian Smith could have incriminated himself, so his attorney got the subpoena squashed.
Had he testified, the Triches would have been able to look Brian Smith, the alleged gunman who stole so much from them, directly in the eye.
“We have seen him in court for his case but always facing away from us,” Mike said, recalling how Jeremy was killed four days before his 28th birthday, and how much he loved his work.
“Just two weeks prior I sat on the front porch and begged him to quit,” Mike said. “He said ‘I’m not ready to quit yet.’ He genuinely loved LaPlace and young kids and he wanted to help all of them. I made a promise after Jeremy died that I would be in every court hearing, every trial, to make sure that he is represented.
In memory of their son, the couple has established the Deputy Jeremy Triche Fallen Hero Foundation, a non-profit that contributes to canine officers and their partners by providing training, protective vests and medical treatment for the dogs, and networking for the families of other fallen officers.
They also donate yearly to the Young Marines program, a cause Jeremy supported and believed in.
While they didn’t get a chance to look the absent Brian Smith in the eye, they came away from the trial with a feeling of some slight satisfaction, convinced beyond a doubt that, indirectly at least, their son’s shooting resulted in an end to the hell of victimization for the girls, and a start for the healing.
They now await the trials related to the shootings, hoping the criminal system will provide justice for their hero son. Mike Triche wanted to make one point very clear, however.
“Justice for Jeremy is not justice for us, his parents,” Triche said. “Only one thing could be justice for us and that is bringing our son back and that will never happen.” •
