Ex-criminal court employee pleads guilty to stealing backpack during Lil Wayne concert
wwltv.com
Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:12 PM
Mike Perlstein / Eyewitness NewsEmail: mperlstein@wwltv.com | Twitter: @mperlstein
NEWORLEANS- A former New Orleans Criminal Court employee pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors Monday in the theft of a backpack during a Lil Wayne concert.
The plea bargain helped Renard Thomas avoid trial and possible prison time, but apparently it will end Thomass chance of getting his job back as a court messenger for Judge Laurie White. The plea bargain also eliminated the awkward possibility of a court appearance by disgraced former NOPD detective Jason Giroir, a key prosecution witness.
Thomas was given a one-year probation after pleading to misdemeanor theft and false impersonation. Originally he was charged with felony theft over $500 after being accused of taking a laptop computer, jewelry and cash belonging to a Los Angeles man.
After his guilty plea Monday morning, Thomas maintained his original alibi, saying he grabbed the wrong backpack after arranging to retrieve the bag from a backstage hallway at the New Orleans Arena after the concert last April.
I believe it was all an unfortunate misunderstanding, Thomass defense attorney Audrey Harris said. But sometimes in this system, you have to do whats in the best interest of the client.
A trial was scheduled for Monday, but the Orleans Parish District Attorneys office was in a bargaining mood because Giroir was the lead detective on the case.
Giroir resigned from the police department last week after being suspended indefinitely for posting inflammatory online comments about the Trayvon Martin killing by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida. Giroir posted the comment, Live like a thug, die like one, despite being investigated for his role in a March 1 police shoot! ing near City Park that ended with one suspect dead, one shot in the leg, and two officers seriously wounded.
Visiting Judge Melvin Zeno presided over Thomas case because the criminal court judges recused themselves. In addition to serving probation, Thomas was ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.
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