LEONARD GRAY

PHOTO: JAKE HECKATHORN DISPLAYS the injuries he claims he received at the hands of a St. Charles Parish jailer during booking for theft, comforted by his mother, Janet Lopez of LaPlace. (Staff Photo by Leonard Gray) HAHNVILLE – Jake Heckathorn of LaPlace said he found himself in the wrong place on the afternoon of March 13. Before the evening was gone, he said, he was in a holding cell, beaten and choked by an angry St. Charles Parish jailer. Heckathorn’s mother filed a complaint, and St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg C. Champagne immediately ordered an Internal Affairs investigation with Sgt. Mike Maunoir. “If we conclude it happened,” Champagne said at the time, “nothing will be swept under the rug. It’s going to come out.” As it turns out nothing happened, according to the report, except that the teen-ager was on the receiving end of a firm slap intended to calm down his violent, abusive, drunken behavior in the jail. The 18-year-old said the jailer beat and choked him and threatened his life, leaving him with a badly swollen eye, bruises and the trauma of his alleged experience. But Maunoir’s report was completed April 30 and concluded the complaint was without merit. Chief Deputy Joseph Cardella said one of Heckathorn’s witnesses never came forward to back up the story, and he added it was a “non-sustained complaint against the deputy.” It has left Heckathorn’s mother, Janet Lopez, furious. “That’s not good,” she said, when contacted about the investigation’s conclusion. “They’re not closing nothing. We’ve never even had our say.” The matter began when Heckathorn and a 17-year-old friend went to Winn-Dixie on Airline Drive in Destrehan March 13 at 5 p.m. He said after the pair bought some chips and exited the store, the younger friend went back in and soon returned with a stolen fifth of gin. The pair were arrested almost immediately by deputies who responded to store management’s call. The two teen-agers were taken to the parish correctional center in Hahnville. After processing the pair, correctional officer Sgt. Markell Jones questioned them, addressing the younger of the two. According to Heckathorn, who underwent surgery on his left ear some time ago for a hearing problem, he spoke up in the mistaken impression he was being addressed. The pair got into a physical confrontation, which Jones had to subdue. Heckathorn claimed threats were made, but the claims were not substantiated by witnesses. According to Cardella, Heckathorn was loud, abusive and acted in a hostile manner to officers. Cardella said the tall, husky teen-ager drunkenly struggled with Jones who “has the right to use a reasonable amount of force to defend himself.” The bruising came when Heckathorn accidently turned his head the wrong way and moved into an oncoming open-handed slap, the officer said. Heckathorn was kept overnight after being charged for two misdemeanors, being a principal to theft and littering, and made a court appearance the next morning before 29th Judicial District Judge Emile St. Pierre, who noticed the bruises and asked Heckathorn what happened. The teen-ager related his story. Heckathorn said the judge doubted his story. He was released to his mother that morning. Heckathorn, a senior at East St. John High School, said he has never been in trouble with the police. “I know he’s not disrespectful to the law,” his mother added. She said she avoided talking to investigators upon the advice of her attorney, refusing even to return repeated telephone calls from the sheriff’s office. Cardella said investigators tried numerous times to contact her and the alleged witness, intending to inform her of the investigation’s conclusions. Champagne stressed that he has numerous witnesses, including clergy conducting services at the time, who heard and saw Heckathorn’s violent behavior and can verify the report’s conclusions.