Mistrial declared in New Orleans murder case
A federal jury in New Orleans was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on five murder-related charges against Sean Alfortish and Leon “Chunky” Parker. After more than 30 hours of deliberations, U.S. District Judge Wendy Vitter declared a mistrial on those counts, The Guardian World reports.
Jury decision
The jury did not reach a verdict on charges of conspiracy to unlawfully influence a witness through murder, unlawfully influencing a witness through murder, conspiracy to retaliate against a witness through murder, retaliating against a witness through murder, and causing death through the use of a firearm. Prosecutors said they intend to retry the case on these counts.
Alfortish was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, obstruction of justice, and unlawful witness tampering. He was acquitted on another obstruction of justice count and on soliciting false testimony. He faces up to 90 years in prison.
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Parker had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy and two counts of mail fraud. He faces up to 60 years in prison. Parker’s attorney, Stephen Hedycke, said the defense considers the jury’s decision not to convict based on the evidence presented appropriate. Alfortish’s attorney, Sean Clark, said the prosecution failed to prove its theory of the informant’s murder.
Charges and staged-crash scheme
The counts on which no verdict was reached concern the death of Cornelius Garrison. According to prosecutors, he was cooperating with the FBI in an investigation into a staged-accident scheme. The prosecution alleged that Alfortish and Parker conspired to kill Garrison at the front door of his mother’s home after learning of his contacts with federal investigators. Prosecutors also said that Alfortish paid Parker for the killing.
The case is connected to Operation Sideswipe, under which more than 63 people have already been convicted. According to the source, participants in the scheme, called “slammers,” deliberately got into accidents with tractor-trailers in order to file fraudulent insurance claims.
