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Thread: Former Police Officer Robert Barthelemy Gets Life Imprisonment in 2013 LA Slaying of Tony Procell

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    Former Police Officer Robert Barthelemy Gets Life Imprisonment in 2013 LA Slaying of Tony Procell


    Tony Procell


    Former Police Officer Robert Barthelemy




    Death penalty sought against Natchitoches cop

    Sabine Parish District Attorney Don Burkett filed notice Wednesday afternoon of his intent to seek the death penalty against a Natchitoches police officer indicted earlier in the day on charges related to the Aug. 20 kidnapping and beating death of a Many man.

    The notice, filed with the Sabine Parish clerk of court, states the death penalty will be pursued at Robert Barthelemy’s trial because of two reasons:

    • The offender was engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of second degree kidnapping;

    • The offense was committed in an especially heinous, atrocious or cruel manner.

    The death penalty and life in prison are options for defendants convicted in capital murder cases. Burkett reached the decision on going for death following discussions with the family of homicide victim Tony Procell, 24, and after “consideration of the facts of the case.”

    A formal notice is not a legal requirement; however, it’s been the veteran district attorney’s process in other capital murder cases prosecuted in Sabine and DeSoto parishes.

    “The notice says why and what ground I am claiming. I adopted this practice to say I’m seeking the death penalty and why it statutorily applies,” Burkett said.

    Burkett filed another death penalty notice last month on an unrelated homicide in Sabine Parish.

    Indictments were handed up on Barthelemy following a special morning session that lasted more than two hours. Burkett could not disclose what was said and who testified in the closed-door discussion, but confirmed law enforcement officers connected to the investigation of Procell’s death were the primary ones offering evidence.

    The grand jury agreed with the charges lodged last month by the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office against Barthelemy: first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and home invasion.

    Barthelemy will be arraigned, a process where he enters an initial plea, before District Judge Stephen Beasley on Sept. 26. Shreveport attorney Daryl Gold is representing Barthelemy.

    The court action comes as family and friends are saying their good-byes to Procell. A wake was held Wednesday, and a funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. today at Siloam Baptist Church in Many, with burial in Trinity Baptist Church Cemetery.

    Procell’s body was discovered Aug. 25 in a shallow grave in Winn Parish. Investigators say he suffered extensive head injuries. A shovel and bat are being tested for DNA evidence to determine which one was the potential murder weapon.

    Barthelemy, 34, of Natchitoches, is accused of forcing Procell at gunpoint from his home then driving him to Winn Parish, where he was killed. Barthelemy was arrested early the next morning in south DeSoto Parish following a car chase.

    He initially denied harming Procell but then stopped cooperating with investigators. Searchers scoured areas familiar to Barthelemy in Natchitoches Parish and ultimately located Procell’s body just over the parish line.

    The men, both of whom served together in the Louisiana Army National Guard, apparently were involved in a dispute involving a woman.

    http://www.theadvertiser.com/article...pping-homicide
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    Trial date set for ex-officer's murder case

    MANY, La. (AP) - A former Natchitoches police officer accused in the death of a Sabine Parish man last year will face a jury next January.

    The Times reports (http://bit.ly/1ehN8t4 ) state District Judge Stephen Beasley on Thursday set a Jan. 19, 2015, trial date in the capital murder case of 34-year-old Robert Barthelemy, of Natchitoches.

    The jury will be selected in St. Landry Parish then transported to Sabine Parish for the trial.

    A Sabine Parish grand jury indicted Barthelemy on first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and home invasion charges in the Aug. 21 death of 25-year-old Tony Procell, of Many. Barthelemy has pleaded not guilty.

    The men, both of whom served together in the Louisiana Army National Guard, were involved in a dispute over a woman.

    District Attorney Don Burkett is seeking the death penalty.

    http://www.knoe.com/story/24537089/t...rs-murder-case

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    Former officer wants Sabine murder charge quashed

    A former Natchitoches police officer accused in the death of a Sabine Parish man wants his murder charge thrown out because he says it was filed in the wrong venue.

    Robert Barthelemy’s attorney, Jason Waltman, filed the motion to quash the bill of information in April. A hearing was held last week in Sabine District Court, but District Judge Stephen Beasley did not issue a ruling. Instead, he gave District Attorney Don Burkett and Waltman deadlines to file briefs in support of their positions. Another hearing is set July 24.

    Barthelemy, 34, of Natchitoches, is charged with first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and home invasion in the Aug. 20 death of Tony Procell, 24, of Many. Sabine Parish sheriff’s investigators say Barthelemy kidnapped Procell from his Many home, drove him to a wooded area in Winn Parish then killed him.

    Barthelemy was arrested early the next morning after a high speed chase on Interstate 49 that ended in DeSoto Parish. He held officers at bay for an hour as the threatened suicide.

    He finally surrendered, but would offer no information on Procell’s whereabouts, other than to tell investigators he left him alive on a dirt road in the Kisatchie National Forest. Deputies didn’t buy the story, and were able to trace some of Barthelemy’s steps through cell phone pings.

    Procell’s body was discovered in a shallow grave by one of his family members who was part of a search team that spent days scouring the area. Procell suffered extensive head injuries. Investigators believe he was beat with a baseball bat.

    Procell and Barthelemy knew each other from their service in the Louisiana Army National Guard. A domestic situation involving the men and a woman reportedly was at the center of their dispute.

    Barthelemy has pleaded not guilty. Burkett is seeking the death penalty.

    In his motion, Waltman acknowledges security cameras recorded Procell leaving a Many residence with Barthelemy at 9:56 a.m. on the day he was killed. Then 14 minutes later, Robeline Police Chief Mike Marbut stopped Barthelemy’s vehicle in a traffic stop. Marbut did not “observe anything unusual” and released Barthelemy without issuing a citation.

    Based on the state’s response to Barthelemy’s discovery motions, it appears the first-degree murder occurred in Winn Parish, Waltman wrote.

    “As the court is aware, a first-degree murder is defined as the killing of human being when the offender had the specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily (injury) and the offender was engaged in the perpetration of an enumerated felony. Mr. Procell’s body was discovered in Winn Parish. There is no evidence to support the assertion that the homicide or the formation of the specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily injury occurred in Sabine Parish,” Waltman states in the motion.

    If it cannot be determined where the offense happened then it is “deemed to have been committed in the parish where the body of the victim was found,” he added.

    “Under the state's theory of the case, the second-degree kidnapping was in process as the two men entered Winn Parish and it was in Winn Parish where the body of Mr. Procell was discovered. If at any time, Mr. Barthelemy released Mr. Procell the crime of kidnapping would have been completed and if Procell were alive could not have formed the basis for a charge of first-degree murder. If Barthelemy had subsequently encountered Procell after his release and killed him in Winn Parish, then the correct charge would have been second-degree murder in Winn Parish,” according to the motion.

    Jurisdiction came into question soon after Procell’s body was found because the burial site was on national park property. Federal officials deferred the case to the state of Louisiana. And Burkett and Winn Parish District Attorney Chris Nevils mutually agreed to let Sabine have jurisdiction because Procell’s family is from there.

    http://www.shreveporttimes.com/artic...nclick_check=1
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    Barthelemy homicide trial won't move from Sabine Parish

    The trial of a former Natchitoches police officer accused of kidnapping and fatally beating a Sabine Parish man will not be moved from the 11th Judicial District Court, according to a ruling today.

    District Judge Stephen Beasley did not explain his ruling from the bench during a hearing. Instead, he said his ruling would be in writing in less than seven days.

    Beasley so far is holding firm on a Jan. 19 court date for Robert Barthelemy, 34, of Natchitoches. He’s charged with first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and home invasion in the Aug. 20 death of Tony Procell, 24, of Many. Sabine Parish sheriff’s investigators say Barthelemy, a two-year employee of the Natchitoches Police Department, kidnapped Procell from his Many home, drove him to a wooded area in Winn Parish then killed him.

    District Attorney Don Burkett is seeking the death penalty. Barthelemy has pleaded not guilty.

    Barthelemy was not called upon today to answer any questions. In the less than half-hour appearance before Beasley, Barthelemy sat motionless. Dressed in a red jumpsuit, identifying him as a Caddo Correctional Center inmate, Barthelemy was handcuffed and shackled.

    Barthelemy’s defense team filed a motion in April asking Beasley to quash the bill of indictment, alleging Sabine Parish was the wrong jurisdiction in which to prosecute their client. They argued there was no evidence to support the assertion the specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm, a required element in a first-degree murder charge, was formed in Sabine Parish when Procell was kidnapped from his Many home.

    Attorney Richard Goorley, who is representing Barthelemy on behalf of the Capital Assistance Project of Louisiana, objected to Beasley’s ruling and announced his plan to appeal to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal in Lake Charles. He also asked for a stay in the proceedings, which Burkett objected to and Beasley denied.

    A number of other so-called “housekeeping motions” were discussed. Among them, the defense’s request for discovery material, including information the state secured from Barthelemy’s laptop computer, Procell’s cellphone and video from a security camera at Procell’s residence, which according to Sabine Parish investigators shows Barthelemy with Procell at gunpoint. They also want a copy of the Robeline police chief’s video of a traffic stop of a speeding Barthelemy 14 minutes after Procell’s abduction and reproductions of security camera footage obtained from stores along state Highway 6 in which investigators used to identify Barthelemy’s vehicle as it passed by.

    Burkett and Assistant District Attorney Anna Garcie said everything the defense has asked for has been provided. Burkett noted, however, that the motion seeking the disclosure of experts the state intends to produce at trial was still a work in progress because the names of those who will be called upon to explain how pings on cell phones are obtained have not been identified.

    Garcie said even the names of those expected to provide victim impact statements at the penalty phase of the capital murder trial, should it reach that point, were provided to the defense Wednesday.

    Procell’s decomposing body was found in a shallow grave in rural Winn Parish five days after he was forced from a home he shared with a state trooper in Many. His disappearance was unknown until the trooper returned hom and noticed the inside in disarray and reviewed the security camera recording.

    Barthelemy was located early the next morning after a high speed chase on Interstate 49 that ended in DeSoto Parish. He threatened suicide, but finally gave up, refusing to provide information on Procell’s whereabouts other than to say he left him alive on a dirt road in the Kisatchie National Forest.

    Procell and Barthelemy knew each other from their service in the Louisiana Army National Guard. A domestic situation involving the men and a woman reportedly was at the center of their dispute.

    http://www.shreveporttimes.com/artic...-Sabine-Parish
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    Former NPD officer wants to change homicide plea

    The former Natchitoches police officer accused in the death of a Sabine Parish man wants to change his plea to not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity.

    Attorneys representing Robert Barthelemy made the request today in Sabine District Court during a pretrial hearing. District Judge Stephen Beasley took the request under advisement and is expected to rule on Nov. 5.

    That's also the same day when another motion concerning funding for the defense will be discussed. Since Barthelemey, who is charged with the first-degree murder of Tony Procell, 45, of Many, is faced with the death penalty if convicted, he is being represented by the Capital Assistance Project of Louisiana. CAPOLA officials are complaining state funding shortfalls will hamper their defense efforts.

    The trial date of Jan. 19 previously set by Beasley so far is unaffected by the recent pretrial issues.

    Barthelemy, 35, of Natchitoches, is accused of taking Procell at gunpoint from his Many home on the morning of Aug. 20, 2013 and driving him to a wooded area in Winn Parish where he was killed. His body was found five days later.

    Barthelemy, who was arrested the day after Procell was reported missing, had previously pleaded not guilty. The men knew each other from their service in the Louisiana Army National Guard. A domestic situation involving the two and a woman reportedly was at the center of their dispute.

    http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story...plea/17792283/
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    Sabine murder trial date postponed to September

    The trial date of a former Natchitoches Parish police officer accused in a Sabine Parish man’s death has been postponed.

    Sabine Parish District Judge Stephen Beasley originally set the first-degree murder trial of Robert Barthelemy for Jan. 19 and had been pushing toward that goal. However, late last week, after Barthelemy changed his plea, Beasley moved the trial date to Sept. 28.

    He’s yet to sign the official orders but members of Tony Procell’s family have been notified.

    Barthelemy, 35, is accused in Procell’s Aug. 20, 2013 death. Barthelemy this month changed his plea from not guilty to not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity.

    District Attorney Don Burkett has said he will seek the death penalty if Barthelemy is convicted in Procell’s death.

    Sabine sheriff’s investigators say Barthelemy, of Natchitoches, kidnapped Procell, 24, at gunpoint from his Many home and drove him to a wooded area in Winn Parish where he was killed. Barthelemy was arrested the next day. Procell’s body was found five days later.

    The men knew each other from their service in the Louisiana Army National Guard. A domestic situation involving the two and a woman reportedly was at the center of their dispute.

    http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story...mber/19191403/
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    Robert Barthelemy's ex-wife testifies about events leading up to Tony Procell's abduction and murder

    Attorneys on both sides of the Robert Barthelemy first degree murder case gave glimpses into their trial strategy Thursday, Dec. 18.

    Natchitoches police officer Barthelemy is accused of killing his Louisiana National Guard colleague Tony Procell, a man he thought was seeing his estranged wife.

    Prosecutors went over several instances which could portray Barthelmey as an abusive husband with a history of threatening other men. One witness said Barthelemy sent him a Facebook message warning him to leave the woman alone, although the man did not give it much thought. A second witness said Barthelemy called him twenty times when he learned he was talking to Barthelemy's ex.The most emotional testimony came when Barthelemy's ex took the stand to tearfully go through the events of Aug. 17, 2013, events leading up to Procell's disappearance and death.

    Procell was missing for five days before his body was found buried in Winn Parish. He had suffered repeated blows to the head with a baseball bat.

    Barthelemy's ex said the suspect wasn't supposed to be at their home but he burst into the bedroom and got her phone. On the cell phone, she says, he found text messages between her and someone listed as "Bub." Barthelemy started calling the number.

    When Barthelemy found out the man on the other side of the text messages was Procell, a man he knew from military service together, Barthelemy reportedly said, "That's who you're going to screw behind my back?" before promising to kill Procell and her.

    For the defense,Barthelemy pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

    Attorneys on both sides of the Robert Barthelemy first degree murder case gave glimpses into their trial strategy Thursday, Dec. 18.

    His attorneys, Richard Goorley and Jay Florence, may use his military experience to explain his reported anger and violence. They brought up a incident where the Barthelemy's neighbor's were shooting off fireworks while they were sleeping. Barthelemy's ex said she woke up to see him armed and crawling across their yard, saying the house was under attack.

    Judge Stephen Beasley will now decide which part's of today's testimony, if any, will be allowed in during trial which is currently scheduled for September 2015.

    http://www.ktbs.com/story/27666546/r...ion-and-murder
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    Sabine judge appoints new attorney, orders payment in former officer's murder trial

    The Louisiana Public Defender’s Board has been ordered to pay the compensation and expenses of attorneys appointed to represent a former Natchitoches police officer accused in a Sabine Parish man’s death.

    Sabine Parish District Judge Stephen Beasley in an order filed July 31 with the parish clerk’s office set the hourly compensation for attorneys Richard Goorley and Daryl Gold at $110 and $95, respectively. “Reasonable expenses” such as travel and lodging related to jury selection and the trial also must be paid, Beasley said.

    A jury will be selected in St. Landry Parish beginning on Sept. 28 in the first-degree murder trial of Robert Barthelemy. Jurors will be transported to Sabine Parish for the actual trial.

    Sabine Parish sheriff’s investigators say Barthelemy, 35, kidnapped Tony Procell, 24, at gunpoint from his Many home on Aug. 20, 2013 then killed him in Winn Parish, where his body was discovered in a shallow grave five days later. A baseball bat is the suspected murder weapon.

    Barthelemy, who was employed by the Natchitoches Police Department at the time of his arrest, has pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. Sabine Parish District Attorney Don Burkett is seeking the death penalty.

    The return of Gold to the defense team followed a July 23 status conference. Gold started out as Barthelemy’s attorney but withdrew and was replaced by J. Antonio Florence. Beasley allowed Florence to step down last month after noting “considerable and irreparable conflict” between the attorneys.

    In his three-page ruling, Beasley said Barthelemy supported Florence’s departure and expressed a desire to maintain Goorley as his lead counsel.

    Goorley assured the court Gold’s familiarity with the case means no postponement of the trial date is needed.

    Beasley last year ordered the state public defender board to pay Barthelemy’s defense bills. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal in Lake Charles overturned the ruling, and a review from the Louisiana Supreme Court sought by the Capital Assistance Project of Louisiana (CAPOLA) is pending. CAPOLA gets its funding from the state board.

    Goorley told Beasley during the status conference that CAPOLA’s funds will be depleted by month’s end, which comes a month prior to the start of Barthelemy’s trial. Funding assurances from the board are “crucial to commence and complete trial,” the judge’s order states.

    He further cites an affirmation from the board to the high court that it will “step up and provide additional funding” and that “Mr. Barthelemy’s defense will be funded one way or the other.”

    http://www.ktbs.com/story/29737269/s...s-murder-trial
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    Jurors in Barthelemy case to be selected from St. Landry Parish

    The trial for a former Natchitoches police officer accused of murder is set for Monday, Sept. 28 in Sabine Parish.

    Authorities say Robert Barthelemy was transferred from the Caddo Correctional Center to the Sabine Parish Detention Center Thursday.

    Barthelemy was indicted on first degree murder, second degree kidnapping and home invasion charges back in 2013 for allegedly kidnapping and murdering 25-year-old Tony Procell.

    Authorities said the abduction was captured clearly on home surveillance video. The two men, who served in the National Guard together, apparently got into some sort of dispute over a woman.

    Barthelemy was captured after a multi-parish chase and standoff in DeSoto Parish the morning after Procell’s abduction.

    Procell’s body was found 5 days after his disappearance, when Barthelemy’s father-in-law came across a shovel caked with fresh mud near the edge of Saline Lake in the Kisatchie National Forest. It was in an area where the two hunted together in the past.

    Cadaver dogs were called in from Red River Parish and quickly alerted on a shallow grave. Procell’s remains were ultimately identified, and the cause of death determined to be blunt force trauma.

    Jury selection in the case against Barthelemy is scheduled to begin Monday at 9:00 a.m. in Opelousas. Court officials say jurors will be selected from St. Landry Parish.

    First degree murder is a capital offense, which means Barthelemy could face the death penalty.

    http://klfy.com/2015/09/24/jurors-in...landry-parish/

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    State rests in Sabine Parish capital murder trial with tearful testimony

    The state wrapped up its case today against former Natchitoches police officer and first-degree murder suspect Robert Barthelemy.

    And it was a day marked with tearful, personal testimony as Barthelemy’s ex-wife, Sandy, spent roughly five hours on the stand. She is the woman at the heart of a love triangle involving Barthelemy and Tony Procell, the man he’s accused of beating to death with a baseball bat in August 2013.

    Sandy began a casual relationship with Procell in the weeks leading up to his death, after getting very close to his mother, Trish Procell. She even stayed in the Procell family home while separated from her husband.

    Sandy broke down crying while talking about the day Barthelemy got a hold of her phone and found out about the new sexual relationship with Procell.

    The defense said the text messages and photos she sent Procell were too explicit and personal to show jurors but they went into detail about what was in them, how Barthelemy found them, and then the threats Barthelemy reportedly made against Procell and his mother.

    Sandy testified she thought Barthelemy had calmed down when she agreed to move back in with him. She wrote last letters to the Procell family, telling them goodbye.

    And just to show how intertwined these two families had become, when police called Sandy to the Sabine Parish Detention Center in Many days later -- but before she knew why -- she called Trish Procell to watch her kids. She learned about the accusations against her husband from Trish Procell.

    The defense began its case Tuesday afternoon and called as its first witness Dr. Frederic Sautter, a psychologist who specializes in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Barthelemy’s attorneys say their client suffered from PTSD.

    Barthelemy he has pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity in Tony Procell’s death. If convicted, Barthelemy faces the death penalty.

    Testimony resumes Wednesday morning in Sabine Parish. Jurors hearing the case are from St. Landry Parish.

    http://www.ktbs.com/story/30253697/s...rful-testimony
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