Stafford gets 40 years in boy's fatal shooting

Melissa Gregory, (318) 792-1807

MARKSVILLE — Derrick Stafford is a good family man, but sometimes good people do bad things, said the Avoyelles Parish judge who on Friday sentenced the former Marksville deputy marshal to 40 years in prison for the manslaughter of 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis.

Derrick Stafford is led into the Avoyelles Parish Courthouse on Friday morning for his sentencing. He received 15 years in prison for his March 24 attempted manslaughter conviction in the wounding of Christopher Few and 40 years for his manslaughter conviction in the death of 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis. The sentences are to be served concurrently.

Twelfth Judicial District Judge William Bennett also sentenced Stafford to 15 years in prison for the attempted manslaughter of the boy's father, Christopher Few. The sentences, to be served concurrently, were handed down after Stafford's defense asked for a new trial, which was denied, and emotional pleas from family members on both sides.

Stafford, 33, was the last person to speak before the sentencing, standing at a podium in an orange prisoner's jumpsuit. He apologized to the Mardis and Few families, looking directly at Christopher Few when he told him that he didn't know Jeremy was strapped into the front passenger seat on the night of Nov. 3, 2015. Few looked back at Stafford, nodding his head.

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Stafford had been involved in a pursuit of Few that night, backing up fellow deputy marshal Norris Greenhouse Jr., when the slow-speed chase ended at Martin Luther King Drive and Taensas Street. Stafford fired 14 shots at Few's Kia Sportage, while Greenhouse fired four times. Few was seriously wounded, but Jeremy died at the scene.

Greenhouse faces a June 12 trial on charges of second-degree and attempted second-degree murder.

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Bertha Andrews, the aunt of Derrick Stafford, speaks to media after her nephew was sentenced to prison on Friday morning. Andrews said racism played a part in Stafford's conviction and sentence on manslaughter and attempted manslaughter charges.

The somber exchange between the two men was a contrast to the scene outside the Avoyelles Parish Courthouse minutes later as Stafford's aunt, Bertha Andrews, said the reason her nephew was found guilty was "the race card, yes it is."

"They used to take a rope and hang you, but now they hang you anyway," said Andrews.

She had harsh words for Marksville residents and police officers she accused of not supporting her nephew.  Andrews said this was the first time her nephew had to draw his gun, and she also laid the blame with Few as she did months ago when speaking to the media after a hearing.

"If it had been two white men that killed that little baby, justifiable homicide. If it had been a black baby, it would have been justifiable homicide," she said, pointing fingers in the air. "And all you that prosecuted him, and all of you that had such hatred in your hearts, I hope you die and when you die, you go to hell."

That prompted laughter from a woman standing with the family. As Andrews and other Stafford family members left, a woman walked close to her and said Stafford "got what he deserved." Andrews responded that was her opinion because she was racist.

Bennett's courtroom was packed for the sentencing, filled with family members on both sides, media and spectators. Cathy Mardis, Jeremy's maternal grandmother, was the first to speak. She told Bennett she was nervous because she wasn't used to speaking in front of crowds.

"Take your time," Bennett replied.

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Christopher Few arrives Friday morning for the sentencing of Derrick Stafford, the former Marksville deputy marshal convicted of shooting him and killing his 6-year-old son on Nov. 3, 2015.

Mardis recalled being present at Jeremy's birth and said that she expected to have more than six years with him. She said Few wasn't a perfect person or father, but that he did the best he could for his son, who always was excited when his father visited and when Few took custody of the autistic boy only months before the fatal shooting.

She said she had been "sickened" by some of the lies she heard during Stafford's trial, asking Bennett to give Stafford the maximum sentence.

"Jeremy died a brutal and miserable lonely death filled with pain," Mardis said as she ended her statement. Few wiped tears from his face as she took her seat on the same bench.

Chris Few spoke next, admitting that he should have pulled over that night. He said several times that Stafford and Greenhouse "kept shooting, kept shooting while my hands were in the air."

His sister, Candace Few, also made an appeal to Bennett.

"Today my nephew only got half the justice he deserves," she said. "Come June, he will finally get the rest."

She said she missed Jeremy's laughter and his hugs. "I'm gonna miss him so much. He was my baby."

Read more: Judge Bennett's reasons for sentencing

Bennett took time to read a statement from Few's mother, Samantha Few, which she typed and was handed to him. He said he also had read multiple statements from people supporting Stafford.

One of Stafford's defense attorneys, Jonathan Goins, pleaded for Stafford at length. He also offered his apologies to the Mardis and Few families, and reminded Bennett that Stafford also has three young children and about his testimony at his trial on how the shooting made him feel. Goins said it never was Stafford's intent to kill Jeremy and seriously wound Few.

He noted that this was Stafford's first conviction on any charge and said that Stafford had put his life on the line every day of the 13 years he served as a police officer.

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Defense attorneys Christopher LaCour (left) and Jonathan Goins arrive for the sentencing of their client, Derrick Stafford, on Friday morning in Marksville.

"I believe this information should not be lost on the court," said Goins.

Andrews also spoke before Bennett, saying that her nephew isn't the monster made out to be by the media and on Facebook. She said he didn't kill the boy on purpose and alleged that the system that trained him to be a police officer had failed him in the aftermath of the shooting.

Bennett then read his eight-page reasons for his ruling, in which he said Few does not escape his share of blame for that night, saying he "made multiple mistakes and exhibited extremely poor judgment" on that night. He said that led to the shooting incident, but "the evidence is totally clear that at the time that Officer Stafford pointed his .40 mm handgun at Christopher Few and shot 14 times, the Few vehicle was stopped and Christopher Few was looking at Officer Stafford and had either already raised his hands in surrender and was in process of so doing."

Bennett's remarks acknowledged that police officers are trained to protect and serve the public and are entitled to use force to protect themselves and others.

"The jury obviously found that Officer Stafford was not in imminent danger of receiving death or great bodily harm at the time that the trigger was pulled," he said. "The Few vehicle was stopped. His hands were raised or were in process of being raised when he was shot at 14 times. Had the trigger not been pulled, Few was clearly in surrender mode.

"The shooting simply never should have occurred."

Bennett granted a motion made by the state back in February 2016 that invoked lengthier sentences because a firearm was used during the crime. He also cited five mitigating circumstances applicable in the case — that Stafford's conduct caused deliberate cruelty to the victims, that he used his position as an officer in the commission of the crimes, that he used violence, that the incident led to "significant permanent injury" for Few, the death of Jeremy and "a significant loss to the family of Jeremy Mardis," and that he used a weapon to commit the crimes.

Stafford has 30 days to file an appeal of the sentence and two years to apply for post-conviction relief. He will not be eligible for parole during the period of the mandatory minimum sentences, which means Stafford will have to serve at least 20 years in prison. He cannot receive credit for good behavior because they are crimes of violence, but he was given credit for time served since his arrest on Nov. 6, 2015.

This story will be updated.