The state’s case against Brandon Scott Lavergne took a strange turn Tuesday when the lead prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Keith Stutes, asked the court for an evidentiary hearing “limited to the perpetuation of testimony.” It remains a mystery whose testimony the state is seeking Friday at 10 a.m. — so much so that at least one local defense attorney is perplexed by the move itself — as the only summons issued by the court are for Lavergne, Stutes and Lavergne’s attorneys. The state could call another witness, but that’s not what appears to be going on here.
Perpetuation of testimony is a mechanism for preserving a witness’ testimony, which might otherwise be lost before the trial begins. For example, if a witness is ill and might not make it to trial, his testimony can be taken before the trial starts. But in the case of 33-year-old Lavergne — who was indicted July 18 for killing UL Lafayette student Mickey Shunick and, in a surprise move by the prosecution, also indicted for murdering Lisa Pate in 1999 — no one is expecting a trial. Sources close to the investigation say the state has already cut a deal with Lavergne to switch his not guilty plea to guilty in the Shunick case. As part of the plea agreement, Lavergne, who was let out of jail for nine hours last Tuesday, led authorities to Shunick’s remains in Evangeline Parish (Stutes said in court Aug. 17 that Lavergne pointed out on an aerial map where to find the body). After Lavergne was indicted, the state said it was going to seek the death penalty, but Lavergne’s cooperation spared him a lengthy death penalty trial, according to our sources; instead, he faces life in prison for the kidnapping and murder of Shunick.
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| Registered sex offender Brandon Scott Lavergne is expected to take the witness stand Friday morning, according to sources close to the investigation of the Shunick murder. Lavergne was indicted in July for kidnapping and killing the UL student in May. |
Sources close to the investigation who asked not to be identified tell The Independent it is the registered sex offender himself Stutes wants to put on the stand. The prosecution and defense teams have been very tight-lipped about the case, neither denying nor confirming the plea agreement. The only way Lavergne would take the stand — he is expected to confess to killing Shunick — is if an agreement has been reached, but it would still be an unusual occurrence.
It’s unclear what kind of plea agreement was struck in the Pate case.
“They used the language perpetuation of testimony, and that means under oath and testifying from the stand,” says longtime Lafayette criminal defense attorney William Goode, who is not involved in the Shunick and Pate cases. “In my way of thinking, that’s what that means,” he says, noting that it would be unusual for Lavergne to take the stand. "If they just want to memorialize what he had to say under oath they could do that in the privacy of a room by deposition. He would be sworn in and recorded.”
When a judge is asked to approve a plea agreement, the defendant does not typically take the stand. “In court the defendant stands there with his lawyer and they discuss what the plea agreement is. The court has to have a factual basis for a plea. And then the court finds there is factual basis, of course [the judge] asks the guy questions about waiving all his rights, right to trial, that the defendant knowingly and intelligently waives his constitutional rights and is competent to do so, and based on that he accepts the plea. Usually [the defendant and attorney] are standing up with a microphone to do that. But they don’t put them on the stand and ask them a bunch of questions.
“It’s very curious. It really is,” Goode adds. “The whole motion that they filed is just kind of different.”
It’s also rather uncommon that neither side is willing to confirm whether an agreement was struck. “This is just speculation, but maybe there are some aspects of this case involving other possible victims. I just don’t know,” Goode says. “I don’t know the intricacies of what’s going on behind the scenes.”
Without a doubt, legal experts say, the high profile aspect of the crime has both sides working hard to preserve the integrity of the case. “It could just be that until it’s done they don’t want to talk about it. This is pretty sensitive, powerful stuff we’re talking about here. The girl, all the press, who she is and the way this whole thing happened makes this a real sensitive, high profile matter that should be handled with extreme care. I think that’s why they just want to be quiet about it.”
In other new developments potentially related to Lavergne, KATC is reporting on the case of a 16-year-old girl missing since April 2010 in Harris County, Texas. Witnesses said about the time Ali Lowitzer disappeared a girl matching her description was seen talking to a man driving a white truck. KATC points out that Lavergne has a sister in Montgomery County, Texas, which is just north of Harris County (our sources say his sister is a key witness in the Shunick case and has been very cooperative).
The missing girl’s family initially agreed to be interviewed by the station but now says authorities have asked her to keep quiet while they investigate. Read the story here.
JUNE 19 Former Saint Steve Gleason, who is paralyzed by ALS, released a statement Tuesday in response to the Atlanta radio station's skit making fun of him and the disease, this Picayune post reports. What did he say? He said he'd accepted the apology of the DJs who did it, notes that at least the incident has got people talking about ALS, and asks anyone who is burning to take action about it to do so -- by helping him fight ALS.
JUNE 19 Blogger Ian McGibboney takes a look at the Gleason incident in this post. He makes a good argument about the difference between having free speech and being free from consequences for your speech (which none of us is). He also admits that many of us got upset before we listened to the skit -- but lets us know that the reality is far worse than we can imagine. It was the incredibly bad judgment, even more than the actual speech, that probably got those DJs fired, he opines.
JUNE 19 Washington Post blogger Aaron Blake writes about Sen. Guillory's switch to the GOP in this post. He writes what most political watchers in Louisiana know: Guillory was a Republican before he decided to run for the senate seat in a mostly-D St. Landry district, and has switched back now that he plans to run for Lt. Gov. in a mostly-R state. But how come Blake missed Guillory's appearance on a TLC pageant show? Now that is a video we'd like to see. (Again).
JUNE 19 Here's another Washington Post blog post about a Louisiana politician, and it's just plain scathing. Ezra Klein says Jindal's Politico post was "insulting" to the intelligence of voters, and adds that Jindal is personifying the "stupid" he's railed against, by being an "elite" who convinces GOP activists of "things that aren't true." Me-ow.
JUNE 19 Here's Gov. Jindal's post in Politico, in which he asks the GOP to get over losing to Obama (again) and stop "the bedwetting." (Uh, what?) He gives his Republican buddies what is probably a nerd's idea of a coach's motivational talk, which starts with a list of accomplishments that they can't seem to exploit and ending with an absurd description of liberals that sounds like a character treatment for a Fox "News" movie scripted by Gordon Liddy. Sure, he's preaching to the choir, but even the choir's not this gullible.
JUNE 19 Lamar Parmentel read Gov. Jindal's post on Politico, but thinks it was so dumb it probably was published in the wrong paper. This post by Lamar on the Daily Kingfish opines that possibly Jindal's post was destined for the Onion -- because the governor couldn't possibly be serious here. If you listen closely, you can hear the staff of the Kingfish giggling.
JUNE 19 Blogger Robert Mann posts from Turkey, a country he has visited several times in the past few years. Mann gives an interesting overview of the current political and societal climate of the country, which -- if you're living under a rock and don't know -- is experiencing protests and turmoil these days. Mann promises to post as much as he can during his trip, which should be fascinating reading.
JUNE 19 Blogger CB Forgotston says the legislature is keeping the vicious cycle going with its funding of new buildings for the community college/technical college system. Universities across the state need maintenance and improvement on existing buildings, and the solution is to build new buildings at other schools? By the time the bonds are paid off, those buildings will be falling down, too, CB says.
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