Greenhouse release delay blamed on paperwork "difficulty"
Thu, 11/12/2015 - 14:21
Raymond Daye
State Police meet with district judge, city officials during the day
By Raymond L. Daye
A “little bit of difficulty” on a legal question was blamed for the delay of Norris Greenhouse Jr.’s release on a $1 million bond Thursday.
Greenhouse and Derrick Stafford are charged with the 2nd-degree murder of 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis. Monday, 12th Judicial District Judge Billy Bennett set bond at $1 million each. State Police officials met with Bennett Thursday, but there was no confirmation on what was discussed.
Greenhouse was in Rapides Parish Detention Center awaiting release on the bond, posted by his family using property in Avoyelles Parish and outside of the parish. However, a legal question arose over a state law that says “A person shall not be released on bail for which an attorney at law, a judge, or ministerial officer of a court becomes a surety or provides money or property for bail.”
Greenhouse’s father is an Avoyelles Parish assistant district attorney -- an “attorney” and a “ministerial officer of a court.”
Because of that connection, the Avoyelles District Attorney’s Office has recused itself from the case. The state Attorney General’s Office will prosecute the case.
A legal source said the close blood relationship of father and son overrules the prohibition listed in the bond provision.
The prohibition is designed to prevent attorneys from bailing out their own clients and any other sort of “back door” deals that might allow suspects to be released by judges without appropriate security.
As of this afternoon, Greenhouse was still in jail and there was no word on whether Stafford would make bail.
In an apparently related matter, State Police Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson also met with Marksville Mayor John Lemoine and Police Chief Elster Smith during the day. Lemoine said earlier in the week that he was seeking State Police assistance in dealing with issues concerning law enforcement in the city that he said need to be addressed. One issue he has identified is a dispute with the city's Civil Service Board over the management of the city police department and the disciplining of employees. The other is the highly publicized controversy over the Ward 2/City Marshal's Office conducting police actions within the city limits. There has been no information provided on the substance and nature of that meeting.