NEW ORLEANS – Yesterday, District Attorney Jason Williams, joined by New Orleans Police Department Deputy Chief Lawrence Dupree and New Orleans City Councilman Eugene Green testified at the Louisiana State Legislature before the Administration of Criminal Justice House Committee in support of House Bill 209. Sponsored by Representatives Mandie Landry, Royce Duplessis, Matthew Willard, Jason Hughes, Aimee Freeman and Delisha Boyd, House Bill 209 would allow New Orleans the ability to craft additional laws that make families safer by removing some state preemptions on gun laws and allowing local leaders to form common-sense measures to reduce guns in the hands of non-law-abiding residents. To read more on House Bill 209, click here or visit https://bit.ly/3xAi77a.

“From Day 1, my top priority has been increasing safety and delivering justice for the people of New Orleans. Accessibility of guns, not by law abiding citizens, but by those who wish to inflict harm, has made that job hard for me and my other local law enforcement partners. Today, I proudly stand in support of House Bill 209 because it gives local law enforcement the opportunity to get a better handle on gun violence by removing some state preemptions on gun laws and allowing local leaders to form common-sense gun measures,” said District Attorney Jason Williams. “This legislation is not about arguing for one specific type of gun restriction or telling another part of Louisiana what they should do; it is simply about providing local officials with the authority to solve local problems. And, I commend Representative Mandie Landry and the other authors of House Bill 209 for their bravery in authoring this important legislation to help us surge back against crime in New Orleans and make our families safer.”

Since the resumption of jury trials, the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office (OPDA) has secured convictions in several cases involving guns. During the first week of jury trials, DA Williams, along with OPDA Trials Division Chief Matthew Derbes, secured the conviction of defendant Samuel Hunter for the Second Degree Murder of Anthony Bridges in the 1700 block of Monroe Street on Christmas Day 2020. According to reports, Hunter murdered Bridges after shooting him numerous times; 19 bullet shell casings were found on the scene. Hunter illegally purchased the gun as a convicted felon. Last week, Assistant District Attorneys Simone Levine and Brad Scott secured the conviction of defendant Gerald “Frog” West for the murder of Marion Brit Hutson, Jr. in New Orleans East in February 2018. According to reports, West murdered the victim during a gun sale.

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