Louisiana Sheriffs Hid a Gun That Could Free a Man,Then Blamed Hurricane Katrina

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RESERVE, Louisiana — One gun took away Arizona Batiste’s freedom, another gun could give it back.

Batiste has been locked up for the past 21 years for the 1993 murder of Leonardo Alexander in what he says was an act of self-defense because Alexander pulled a gun on him. Batiste was convicted by a jury that didn’t buy his claim because Alexander’s weapon was never found by sheriff’s deputies working the crime scene.

During Batiste’s trial, there was some doubt among jurors about the deputies’ version of events and they voted 10-2 to convict. In 48 states, it would’ve been declared a mistrial but Louisiana and Oregon do not require unanimous decisions.

In fact, deputies did recover a pistol matching the description of Alexander’s handgun on the morning after the murder, according to recently uncovered documents obtained by The Daily Beast. The documents also show the district attorney’s office was aware of the gun’s existence but did not disclose it to Batiste’s defense counsel before his trial—a clear violation of his right to due process and grounds for petitioning for a new trial.

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The Katrina Lie

When Batiste’s new lawyer, Brown, uncovered the fax about the handgun, she confirmed with the sheriff’s office was still in possession of the actual gun. As soon as Alexander appealed for a new trial, the sheriff’s department became less forthcoming, Brown said.

“The DA says there’s nothing else there,” she says she was told after asking for any other new evidence.

After repeated delays and interference by the DA’s office, sheriff’s case files were eventually provided to The Daily Beast but a large number of files were missing, including the fax about the handgun and another key interview with Jerry Lewis.

The sheriff’s department blamed Hurricane Katrina.

“The sheriff’s file for this case was maintained in a trailer which I am told was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina in August 2005,” Carl Butler, the sheriff office’s lawyer, said.

Katrina was a category 5 hurricane that hit Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2005 and killed more than 1,000 people in New Orleans and displaced another 400,000. Parts of the city were submerged under 10 feet of water during the storm.

But St. John the Baptist Parish didn’t flood. Instead, it served as a staging area for recovery efforts into the flooded city.

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