NEW ORLEANS — Almost everything about the second-degree murder case against Damon Rideau in the fatal shooting of his Sewerage & Water Board co-worker Darren Gallin was unusual.
The final confrontation was caught on video, showing Gallin blocking Rideau’s SUV with his truck, and then getting out to confront him. Rideau was charged with second-degree murder after fatally shooting Gallin, despite calling 9-1-1, staying on the scene and claiming self-defense.
Rideau, 33, decided in February to forgo a trial and enter a rare “blind plea” to manslaughter, leaving his fate and a possible 40-year sentence in the hands of New Orleans Criminal Court Judge Marcus DeLarge.
The final surprise came Tuesday at Rideau’s sentencing before a courtroom packed with family, friends and supporters: three months in prison, the precise amount of time Rideau spent behind bars before he was released on bail.
An audible gasp rippled through the courtroom when DeLarge pronounced his sentence, the most lenient possible under the law.
“To have Mr. Rideau get to leave, to walk out of that courtroom, not in handcuffs, to go back with his family, that was tremendous,” said Nicholas Lindner, one of Rideau’s defense attorneys.
What the defense team maintained throughout the case was what Rideau described as a long stretch of harassment and threats from his co-worker.
“He feared for his life,” defense attorney Branden Villavaso said.
“To the point that he took off work. He missed days of work because of that fear.”
Villavaso said the threats escalated to the point in which Gallin, 57, allegedly told Rideau, “I’ll kill you.”
Armed with that information, Rideau and his attorneys made a tough call and big gamble: enter a plea to manslaughter without any sentencing agreement.
“He threw himself to the mercy of the court,” Villavaso said.
Rideau’s attorneys offered a portrait of their client not only as a victim of escalating workplace harassment, but as a devoted husband and father of two children. Rideau’s wife, sister and pastor testified at his sentencing hearing. That testimony was backed up with more than 10 letters of support from additional family and friends.
Two of Gallin’s family members addressed the court remotely through a Zoom call. WWL Louisiana was not able to reach the family for comment after the sentencing.
DeLarge knew the lenient sentence would be open to criticism, so he read a long and carefully reasoned statement before pronouncing his judgment.
After noting Rideau’s evidence of harassment and fear, he said that he had to ask himself: “Is the community going to be safer by putting this man in prison? The answer is no.”
“This is not one you see very often, but based upon the evidence he was supplied with, we believe it was appropriate,” Villavaso said.
Had the case gone to trial, Rideau was ready to take the witness stand and claim self-defense. Instead, he decided to have faith in the justice system.
“He made a decision, because it's his decision at the end of the day, to say, ‘I'm going to go ahead and take accountability and put it in the judge's hands,’ ” Villavaso said.
In a statement, the district attorney's office wrote, “Yesterday, Judge DeLarge handed down a sentence of three months, credit for time served, to defendant Damon Rideau.
ADA Zachary Creel expertly prepared a very difficult case involving coworkers known to one another, and was able to secure a significant plea under the circumstances to manslaughter. Final sentencing was left up to the Judge pursuant to applicable law.
Judge DeLarge, who reviewed the available evidence, including the Detective's Homicide Investigation Report and surveillance footage of the incident prior to sentencing, handed down what he saw as an appropriate sentence in light of the facts and verifiable evidence in this case.”
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