By LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / May 2, 1999

NAPOLEONVILLE – Anthony Scott is joining his companion in crime, James Michael Dunn, on Louisiana’s death row for the June 4, 1998 murder of two bank tellers in Napoleonville.

Scott, 19, and Dunn, 32, are both from Garyville.

Scott’s trial began April 19, and he was convicted of first-degree murder Wednesday, following one hour of deliberation by a jury selected in Shreveport, according to 23rd Judicial District Attorney Anthony Falterman.

The jury, eight women and four men, sentenced Scott to death on Thursday, going into deliberation at 4:25 p.m. and returning less than an hour later.”We dropped a bomb on the defense when we filed a motion that the defense not be allowed to put on witnesses asking for a life sentence instead of death, that the law doesn’t provide for it,” Falterman added.

“The judge ruled in our favor, and we’ll see what happens in appeal.”Dunn was convicted on March 18, and a third suspect, co-defendant Kendall Breaux, 19, also of Garyville, awaits the outcome of a May 9 competency hearing before his trial can be scheduled.

Scott and Dunn have been convicted of the shooting deaths of Jackie Blanchard, 31, of Plattenville, and Lisa Dupuis, 22, of Pierre Part, during the armed robbery of the Napoleonville branch of Iberville Savings & Trust Bank.

Falterman, who assisted Robin O’Bannon in prosecuting the pair, said he was quite pleased with the successful prosecution of the cases, the first death-penalty cases in Assumption Parish since 1948.

Dunn was not a first-time offender. He was one of three people whoambushed and gunned down St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s deputy Lt.Sherman Ray Walker outside his home on Nov. 6, 1984. In that case, Dunnpled guilty in August 1985 to manslaughter and received a 22-year sentence. He was released on good behavior in 1995.Likewise, according to Falterman, Scott had a prior conviction for attempted murder when he was 14 years old, a fact told the jury during the penalty phase of the trial.

In that instance, Scott fired six times at another juvenile on Dec. 26,1993, striking him three times.

“Character propensity is what the code calls it,” Falterman commented In the bank robbery incident, according to prosecutors, the men entered the bank where Scott first shot Blanchard in the head with a .41-caliberMagnum firing .38-caliber slugs. Then, prosecution added, Dunn fired atDupuis three times and followed Scott in a killing shot to Blanchard.

Deputies responding to a silent alarm gave chase, and roadblocks were set up in their path near Donaldsonville One mile down the road the car was struck by a Union Pacific train. Breauxwas pinned in the vehicle and quickly taken into custody. The other two,Dunn and Scott, tried to run into a nearby sugarcane field but were quickly caught.

The robbery loot and the bank’s security camera containing the robbery caught on videotape were recovered. Falterman said the videotape showedDunn shooting the two tellers, after which the trio splashed gasoline in an attempt to burn the bank and further hide evidence. The gasoline failed toignite.

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