NEW ORLEANS: "As controversy continued to swirl over Mayor LaToya Cantrell's unexpected appearance last week in support of a 14-year-old offender in Orleans Parish Juvenile Court, more details came to light Monday about how she likely came to know the youth. Cantrell surprised juvenile court officials and the district attorney’s office with her unannounced court appearance Thursday in which she sat with the young perpetrator’s family as he was sentenced to probation for three first-degree robbery convictions, committed when the defendant was only 13. Emily Wolff, director of the city's Office of Youth and Families, said Monday that the teen is a graduate of the Pathways Youth Internship Program, created in 2019 by Cantrell, who takes a hands-on approach with its participants.
District Attorney Jason Williams, however, said last week he was disappointed in the sentence and had not been told why the mayor was in court. He said his prosecutors pushed for detention. “It was abundantly clear based on the facts, evidence, and circumstances that serious jail time was required,” Williams said.
Meagan Fontenot Donnelly, whose sister was one of five people carjacked during the teen's two-day crime spree in September, said she wished the mayor had shown direct support for the victims on Thursday instead of their attacker.
"She shows absolutely no sorrow for the victims that had to go through this," Donnelly said, describing the financial and emotional toll the violent crime continues to exact from her sister, who remains afraid to travel anywhere alone.
City Council President Helena Moreno said Monday she, too, is waiting for an explanation from the mayor.
“To show up in court to show support for someone who is now being sentenced for several carjackings, I think it sends a troubling signal,” Moreno said. “I know that the public is very troubled by this. Particularly since we said that we are a city that is trying to help victims of crime.”
https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_800aa538-2263-11ed-896a-d33357e666d1.html