NEW ORLEANS — The two adult suspects booked with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a popular French Quarter tour guide each told detectives that their 15-year-old companion is the one who fired the fatal shot during a botched robbery attempt.
The 15-year-old also was arrested, and information obtained exclusively by WWL Louisiana shows that the 15-year-old had been in and out of juvenile lockup at least five other times after a series of crimes.
The juvenile was most recently released from custody on May 21 after being convicted on charges that include domestic abuse battery, illegal possession of a handgun and seven counts of aggravated assault with a firearm.
New Orleans City Council member Oliver Thomas said he is disappointed but not surprised that the youthful offender was no stranger to the criminal justice system.
“This is something that could have maybe been preventable had the system tracked this youth once he kept going through the system, especially the last time,” Thomas said. “If we had had some intense intervention and outreach and monitoring, this could have been avoided.”
Despite being ordered into an electronic monitoring program as a condition of his sentence, police say the 15-year-old was engaged in a robbery spree in the French Quarter with the other two other men early Sunday morning when Kristie Gioe Thibodeaux, 43, was fatally shot.
A police report states that Thibodeaux was killed by a single bullet while sitting in her car on St. Peter Street during the robbery attempt.
Joshua Bonifacio, 19, and Jerben Albarec, 17, were booked a short time later with second-degree murder and are each being held on bail of $1.1 million.
Prosecutors appeared in juvenile court Wednesday to request that the 15-year-old be transferred to adult court for prosecution. That hearing was postponed, but prosecutors indicated they will be seeking a charge of first-degree murder.
Thomas said he understands and agrees with the need for alternatives to incarceration for young people, but he also said those alternatives need to be rigorous enough to recognize and curtail repeat offenders.
“At what point do we especially allow juveniles to continue to go through the revolving door of the system without some level of accountability when they go through the door back out again?” Thomas asked.
He said the revolving door may slow down if everyone in the system focuses on the potential victims of repeat violent offenders.
“What about the life and limb of the person or the family who was injured?” Thomas asked.
A new date of August 27 was set for a hearing to determine if the 15-year-old will be transferred to adult court for prosecution. He will remain in custody at the city's Juvenile Justice Intervention Center until then.
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