One of two men charged in the 2008 murder of a couple whose remains were found dismembered and burned beyond recognition 10 days after they were reported missing pleaded guilty Wednesday (April 24) to two counts of obstruction of justice in their deaths.
Timothy Webb, 37, was indicted in 2017 on two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of 22-year-old Jarnell Sanders and 24-year-old Candice Guillard. Prosecutors on Wednesday amended his indictment, instead charging Webb with two counts of obstruction of justice in a homicide investigation.
Webb also pleaded guilty to a felony theft charge, and was sentenced to the maximum 10 years in prison.
Prosecutors have offered Webb 20 years on the obstruction of justice charges, but Criminal District Judge Camille Buras made it clear she is not bound by law to impose the agreed-upon sentence. She deferred sentencing to July 30, after Webb’s co-defendant is scheduled to face trial.
Prior convictions can be used in case of body shop owner charged in double homicide
Buras spent about 30 minutes in her office after listening to victim impact statements, and told Webb when she returned that she reserves the right to sentence him to the full 40 years on each obstruction count. Buras said she relayed that sentiment to defense attorney Eusi Phillips and Assistant District Attorney Tiffany Tucker in conversations at the bench and in chambers.
Webb’s sentence ultimately will depend on whether he complies with a “memorandum of understanding” he signed in court Wednesday, Buras said. That memo was not placed in the record, and details were not discussed in court.
Buras said if Webb completes his time in Department of Corrections custody before his co-defendant goes to trial, he should be remanded to the Orleans Parish Sheriff until that case is complete.
Webb’s co-defendant, Chuckwudi Ofomata, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, and is accused of firing the shots that killed Sanders and Guillard. Buras set his trial date for July 29.
Ofomata also is awaiting trial on federal charges connected to the 2013 armed robbery and slaying of armored truck guard Hector Trochez. Federal authorities are seeking the death penalty in that case.
Bad car sale might have led to shootings
Tucker said Webb in a statement to investigators indicated he was present when Sanders was shot inside his 7th Ward auto body shop and when Guillard was shot outside. Webb also was aware their bodies were dumped in New Orleans East and burned beyond recognition, Tucker said.
In the theft case, Tucker said Webb sold Sanders a car but never provided him with the actual vehicle. He received more than $10,000 in exchange for the vehicle, she said.
Sanders tried several times to get the car from Webb, she said, and eventually filed a police report saying he couldn’t get the car or his money back.
Investigators have said that’s what led to the fatal shootings.
At a previous hearing, prosecutors said Sanders was killed when he confronted Webb about his apparent theft of either the money or the vehicle. Guillard, his girlfriend, accompanied him to the shop.
According to Webb’s arrest warrant, Webb was tipped off that Sanders was coming for a heated argument, so he armed himself and asked Ofomata to come for protection.
‘You have to pay for it’
Family and friends of both Sanders and Guillard filled three rows of seats in Buras’ courtroom Wednesday. Six people gave emotional victim impact statements before Webb’s sentencing.
Sanders’ mom, Valorie, said she finally was getting closure 11 years after her son’s death. She held back tears initially, and talked about how she never got a chance to get one last kiss from her son.
“The cruelty that you did, you have to pay for it,” she told Webb.
Gillard’s mom, Catrina, said her daughter was “beautiful, intelligent, independent and loving.”
“Candice was always the life of the party,” she said. “You robbed me of a daughter, and her beautiful daughter of a life spent with her mother.”
Candice Guillard’s teen daughter said she was only 4 when her mom was killed, but she was “the closest and most important thing to me.”
“I miss her more than anything,” she said, sobbing from the witness stand. “She got taken away from me because you had so much hatred in your heart. Because of you, I suffer every day.”
Catrina Gillard said she forgives Webb, but noted that didn’t mean she was proposing mercy be shown to him.
“My forgiveness means I will no longer allow what was done to my child by you and others to keep me in a prison of bitterness anger and revenge,” she said. “Hopefully the time you spend in prison will cause you to think about what you have done and feel remorseful.”
via nola.comhttps://www.nola.com
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