LOREAUVILLE, La. (KLFY) – A Loreauville father is speaking out.
He says the man who killed his 18-year-old son in a drunk driving accident nearly four years ago, was let out of prison years earlier than he should have been.
KLFY is getting answers in the story of Jordan Michael Prince, and why his killer was let out of jail so quick.
“I will never forget the sound of that zipper, opening up for us to see Jordan inside,” said Gary Prince, the father of Jordan.
He remembers that horrible night, on May 23 of 2015, when his son Jordan was killed.
“There was a party at one of his friends house. They decided after later that night, that they were going to eat breakfast,” said Prince.
Jordan had just graduated from Loreauville High.
Gary was waiting in the living room for his son to return home, when his oldest son started receiving text messages that Jordan had been in an accident.
“We started finding out from some of the kids that were with Jordan, that we needed to come back to the accident scene, so then we knew. It was the worst feeling inside. My heart had sunk to my toes,” said Prince.
A man was traveling on the wrong side of Highway 90 in Iberia Parish. His car then struck Jordan’s car.
Jordan died instantly.
Jordan died instantly.
His friends could smell the alcohol on the drivers breath.
“The alcohol blood level was .16, which is double the legal limit,” Prince said.
Fast forward 2 years…
The suspect appears in court, agrees to a plea deal: convicting him of Vehicular Homicide and DUI.
“He was sentenced to 15 years, suspend all but 7, and then put on 5 years probation. So basically what that means is, he (suspect) would have to do 7 years in jail, and then after 7 years he would get out, and then be placed on probation for 5 years,” said Nicole Burke, Assistant District Attorney for the 16th Judicial District.
She and District Attorney for the 16th Judicial Distrct, Martin ‘Bofill’ Duhé handled the case, in hopes of getting justice for Jordan.
“With Justice ReInvestment, because this is considered a non-violent offense, the good time release provision said that he would be released for good time, and put on a probationary period at that point,” said Mr. Duhé.
Jordan’s killer was released after only serving 18 months or 21% of his sentence.
The family first heard about the release after the suspect was required to purchase a billboard, warning people of the dangers of drinking and driving.
“My wife said, ‘Hold on why are we having this conversation, was this person released?’ Oh yes mam, as of September 11, he was released,” Prince was told.
“Do y’all believe in this case justice was served?” questioned KLFY reporter Lester Duhé.
“You know that’s a very difficult thing. Nicole what do you think?,” said Mr. Duhé.
“I believe that with, well, I believe that we did the best we cold with the plea agreement, within the confines of the law we thought.
Now I will say that I do think that the Prince’s and I, thought that he (suspect) would spend a little more time in jail. I think everybody’s dissapointed on that terms.
So I can’t really say that justice was served,” said Burke.
Now I will say that I do think that the Prince’s and I, thought that he (suspect) would spend a little more time in jail. I think everybody’s dissapointed on that terms.
So I can’t really say that justice was served,” said Burke.
“Do you all think there will be similar cases to this?” questioned KLFY’s Lester Duhé.
“Yes. I believe there will be similar cases to this,” said the District Attorney.
Gary believes justice was not served for Jordan.
He’ll remember his son as an avid outdoorsman
He’ll remember his son as an avid outdoorsman
“Jordan loved to fish,” he said.
And with a great sense of humor, Jordan was someone who was supposed to carry on his legacy.
Gary now hopes others won’t drink and drive, so they don’t have to feel the pain he experiences everyday.
“Like any young person, you think about dying, you scared to die.
It’s not a thing about being scared to die anymore, it’s that I’ll be able to see my son again. I miss him so bad,” said Prince.
It’s not a thing about being scared to die anymore, it’s that I’ll be able to see my son again. I miss him so bad,” said Prince.
The subject’s release date was pushed up because of the Criminal Justice Reinvestment Act, that passed through the State Legislature in 2017, along with a plea deal that was reached, along with having a number of ‘good time’ credits he received while in prison.
It should also be noted, that if the suspect’s blood alcohol level would have been .20, instead of .16, the crime would’ve been considered a ‘Crime of Violence,’ and he would’ve had to serve atleast 70% of the sentence, instead of 18 months.
Due to a request by Jordan’s family, we did not publish the name of the suspect who killed their son in this report.
Ken Pastorick, the Communications Director with the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections gave KLFY this statement after the story aired:
“This was a plea deal which took much more time off of the sentence than did Criminal Justice Reforms. The prosecutors, defense attorneys, and the judge all agreed upon the deal, which suspended more than half, 8 years, of a 15-year sentence. Whereas criminal justice reforms reduced this individual’s sentence by 129 days. The district attorney and the court are more than aware of the laws governing criminal sentences as well as goodtime calculation rates for non-violent offenses. They also understand that a seven year sentence for a non-violent offense only requires a little more than a third of this sentence be served behind bars, and that the defendant can also earn up to 360 days of Certified Treatment and Rehabilitation Program credits while incarcerated.”
