NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge has ruled that a drugging-and-theft scheme by a New Orleans pimp named Randy Schenck was the “direct and proximate cause” of a Metairie man’s death in 2017, even though Schenck has never been charged with homicide.
U.S. District Judge Barry Ashe sentenced Schenck to 300 months in prison for a nationwide sex-trafficking scheme where he had a prostitute named Dominique Berry “drop pills” in men’s drinks, wait for them to become incapacitated and then steal their money and credit cards and other belongings.
The duo was found guilty of employing the plan at least nine times in five states, from California to Georgia. In one of those cases, Arthur, 40, responded to an online ad for Berry and she came to his Metairie apartment on Feb. 24, 2017. Arthur was found dead the next morning.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s deputies investigated. A police report noted Berry’s fingerprint was found at the scene, but Det. Kurt Zeagler wrote she “has made herself unavailable to law enforcement.” Zeagler’s report painted Arthur as a heavy drinker, determined his death was an accident and closed the case in less than three months.
Arthur’s father, Bob Arthur, didn’t accept that. He and private investigators uncovered Schenck and Berry’s nationwide sex-trafficking scheme and forced Jefferson Parish to reopen the case. The Jefferson Parish coroner changed the cause of death from accidental to undetermined, but JPSO has declined to file murder or manslaughter charges against Schenck.
Bob Arthur points to a portion of the Louisiana murder law that says it’s murder if a perpetrator kills someone while distributing controlled substances or while committing a robbery, “even though he has no intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm.”
Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul Connick’s office informed Bob Arthur that it decided not to file state homicide charges against Schenck or bring the case to a grand jury.
“I am not sure what is worse, the fact that Schenck and Berry murdered Shawn, or that Detective Zeagler did not do his due diligence and then when we brought out the true facts, Zeagler did everything to try and ruin Shawn's reputation, our family's reputation and discredit the professionals that helped us,” Bob Arthur wrote in an email following Ashe’s ruling. “The fact that the Jefferson Parish authorities covered up for Zeagler is the real crime.”
At a restitution hearing earlier this year in federal court, Schenck argued he didn’t have to pay restitution for Arthur’s death because he had never been charged with homicide.
Ashe disagreed and ordered Schenck to pay Arthur’s family in Missouri restitution of almost $330,000 for the net-income Arthur lost, his stolen property and expenses for his funeral.
“The money means nothing to us, but the fact that the court order states that Schenck caused Shawn's death means everything,” Bob Arthur said.
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