By LEONARD GRAY-Staff Reporter

EDGARD – A light sentence was given Monday to the driver who struck and killed St. John the Baptist Parish code enforcement officer Edmond “Skipper” Songy of LaPlace last July.

Stewart Juneau, 56, of New Orleans, was arraigned and entered a plea of guilty to reckless operation of a motor vehicle. He paid a $200 fine, plus $108 court costs and received six months inactive probation.

Meanwhile, Songy will be recalled on the Law Enforcement Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., as his wife, Sybil, will be making the trip next week for the memorial service.

Memorial services for Songy were also held Friday at Lake Lawn Cemetery in Metairie. He was buried soon after the accident in Jena.

On July 9, 2002, Juneau was arrested and cited with careless operation of a motor vehicle and failure to obey directions of a police officer after the car he was driving struck Songy on Interstate 10. At the time, Songy was directing traffic off the interstate and onto Belle Terre Boulevard to bypass traffic from another fatality accident a quarter-mile ahead of his position. His normal job was working as a code enforcement officer, but he did provide backup to deputies, when requested to do so.

Songy, 60, of Greenwood Drive, LaPlace, was wearing a reflective vest and stood with his marked police unit, with flashing lights when he was struck by the 1997 Chevrolet Suburban.

All this was in keeping with established and correct procedure, according to Chief Criminal Deputy Harold Klibert of the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators subpoened cellular phone records to attempt to prove the driver whose vehicle struck Songy was using his telephone at the time and may have been distracted. Further, according to the incident report, evidence was found that Juneau may also have been eating a peach while on the phone and driving when he came upon the scene.

District Attorney John Crum’s office recused itself, as in the case of a crime against any law enforcement person, to preserve the defendant’s right to a fair trial.

This was done, according to Crum, as a matter of procedure in the interests of justice.

The case moved later to the Louisiana Attorney General’s office and then, finally, Harry Morel Jr., 29th Judicial District Attorney in St. Charles Parish, was approached about handling the prosecution, and Morel eventually prosecuted the matter Monday before 40th Judicial District Judge J. Sterling Snowdy in Edgard.

Songy’s wife, Sybil, had no comment to make after the case’s conclusion. Songy’s brother, Kenneth J. Songy of Reserve, felt the sentence was light, “but I do feel sorry for him. It’ll stay on his mind the rest of his life.”

Kenneth added that Juneau did apologize from the stand to the family, his voice breaking with deep emotion. He also offered any assistance he could render.

“He did it because he loved the job,” Kenneth Songy said. “They depended on him a lot.”

The chain of events leading to Songy’s death began with an earlier accident that day.

An 18-wheeler driven by William C. Moore of Kemp, Texas, was westbound in the right lane of I-10 at 9:09 a.m., just west of the Belle Terre Boulevard interchange, when he saw the traffic ahead slowing down and stopping. He tried to avoid hitting the stopped cars when his vehicle’s trailer began sliding and struck the rear of a 2001 Jeep Cherokee in the left lane.

The driver of the Cherokee, Traci Wertz of Abita Springs, was pulled from her damaged vehicle by other motorists, but the vehicle caught on fire and trapped the passenger, Mark W. Mackaness of Jacksonville, Fla. Mackaness died in the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene. Wertz was airlifted from the scene by Air Med.

A series of additional accidents followed as the high-speed traffic failed to react quickly enough.

After the incident, Kenneth Songy helped to push for the quick and vigorous prosecution of Juneau, while Sheriff Wayne L. Jones pushed for a charge of negligent homicide. Now, Kenneth Songy says, “I’m kind of relieved.”

Skipper Songy was born in San Diego, Calif. and the family soon relocated to St. John the Baptist Parish. His other siblings are Tommy, Timmy and Kathleen.

He also recalled Skipper’s love for the law enforcement work he did as an code enforcement officer, and he enjoyed being called upon and thought of as dependable by the sheriff’s department.