Pelican die-off at Grand Isle beach
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Generation Next
February 4, 2016
For four days last week the Terrebonne Parish courthouse was in a state of near lockdown, as jurors in a second-floor courtroom heard testimony during the trial of a man charged with raping his step-daughter from the time she was 10-years-old.
While not so extreme as the protocols adopted for securing the building during last week’s trial of Terry Smith, officials say restricted access to the normally porous courthouse annex is a harbinger of changes to come soon.
Although a date has not been set, new plans and equipment for increased courthouse security will be in place soon, officials say, maintaining that the Smith trial has served as a good dry run.
“I think it would be fair to say it was a good trial run, a first time to funnel all the public through one entrance,” said Kevin Guidry, administrator for District Attorney Joe Waitz Jr., whose office is inside the building. “We thought new procedures would have already been in place, but it was a matter of equipment being back-ordered or delayed.”
Smith was convicted of aggravated rape, aggravated incest and sexual battery. He still faces charges in St. John Parish stemming from the 2012 shooting deaths of two deputies, Jeremy Triche and Brandon Nielson, and the wounding of two others. His son, Brian Smith, faces a capital murder charge in connection with that crime. While Terry Smith is not accused of pulling the trigger – his son is – authorities say he aided and abetted the attack. Smith’s association with the Sovereign Citizens movement, branded a domestic terrorist group by federal authorities, is what prompted the unprecedented security. He is considered an escape risk, and while in the custody of the Louisiana Department of Correction, in connection with a prior sexual abuse case, he is alleged to have planned a prison escape.
During the trial all members of the public wishing to enter the building had to pass through a
metal detector set up at the Church Street entrance closest to the offices of Sheriff Jerry Larpenter. Normally, walk-through metal detectors are used at the entrances to courtrooms.
Security precautions for the Smith trial included elements that will not be part of the workaday plan, such as placement of sharpshooters in locations not generally visible to the public, the closing of School Street, which runs between the annex building and the older, art deco courthouse whose primary entrance faces an oak-shaded park and West Main Street.
Judges whose courtrooms are in the annex had to temporarily relocate to the old courthouse, and members of the public on courthouse business were turned away from the Sheriff’s Office entrance; they were told to enter the old courthouse. The breezeway between the two buildings was closed.
The Louisiana Supreme Court has urged increased security at courthouses throughout the state, and in 2011 requested chief judges in all parishes to create a “Courthouse Security Committee” to “increase the dialogue among all courthouse stakeholders, establish procedures for handling security incidents, and formulate a plan to improve security in and around the courthouse.”
Lafourche Parish has had single point of entry security in place for nearly a decade. Judge Jerome Barbera, who retired from the Lafourche bench in 2014, was the chairman of the Supreme Court’s security committee, which urged other judicial districts to take action.
The dialogue in Terrebonne has continued through at least three chief judges, who have urged change. A requested security assessment of the Terrebonne Parish courthouse was done in 2012 with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service. Since then, officials acknowledge the dialogue between agencies has been sporadic. Parish Homeland Security Director Earl Eues has been credited with facilitating cooperation between various agencies that live under the courthouse roof, and a meeting to finalize protocols is expected within the next month.
Chief Judge Johnny Walker said the change in parish administration – with Gordon Dove just having taken over from Michel Claudet as parish president – has resulted in the latest delays, but is optimistic that a final plan is close.
“We have made a lot of progress and we are going to meet with Parish President Dove’s administration; everyone is on the same page,” Walker said. “I think we are very close to having something taking place.”
Jennie Callahan, the parish’s court administrator, said she is pleased to see light at the end of the tunnel.
“It’s been a good work in progress for some time and it’s nice that it is coming to an end,” Callahan said.
Security during the Smith trial was a coordinated effort between the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, the Louisiana State Police and Houma Police Department, with the Sheriff’s Office taking the lead role.
The already tight security was beefed up last Wednesday, when Brian Smith was to have testified as a witness for the defense. Rifle-toting correctional officers from the Louisiana Department of Corrections wearing body armor escorted the alleged cop-killer in a caravan; helicopters hovered over Houma skies. Brian Smith’s attorney, however, appeared before Judge Randy Bethan-court and told him that testifying at his father’s trial would violate his right to not incriminate himself, and that she wanted the subpoena issued by the defense to be quashed. Bethancourt complied with the request, and Brian Smith was returned to the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, where he is being held pending trial in St. John.
Among the considerations that must be taken into account, officials said, is whether to have a ground-level single entrance that will join the old courthouse and the newer annex. But that could take some time, since that portion of School Street would have to be condemned by the parish government. One public entrance to the old building and another into the annex are also under consideration, although that will require more staffing. Officials confirmed that in addition to a metal detector, an X-ray machine for scanning of briefcases and packages are on the menu.
The choices will also be governed by considerations relating to access for disabled people.
“Everything went fine,” said TPSO Col. Mike Solet, who oversaw the operation. “I didn’t see any hiccups, I think the transition from this event here to going to full-blown security will be seamless, though we are still in the process.”
Security precautions for the rape trial of Terry Smith included a shutdown of School Street to traffic between Goode and Church streets for four days last week.
Heavily armed Louisiana Department of Correction officers prepare to transport alleged cop-killer Brian Smith, who was scheduled to testify at the rape trial of his father, Terry Smith, back to the state penitentiary at Angola, where he awaits trial.
