Jackson Jambalaya

Perfect example of what happens in domestic violence cases is taking place in New Orleans. State Senator Derrick Shepherd has been indicted by the feds for a few things and decided to take it out on his ex-girlfriend. Shepeherd was:
"arrested Saturday night, accused of punching his ex-girlfriend and stealing her cellular phone and $100, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office reported.
Shepherd, D-Marrero, was arrested around 6:45 p.m. Saturday and booked with unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling, simple battery and theft over $500.....
Shepherd was arrested at his residence in Stonebridge. The sheriff's office said there were two women in the house, one of whom appeared to be performing a lap dance on Shepherd, who was on a sofa.
At a press conference Sunday afternoon, Sheriff Newell Normand reported that deputies responded to a call of aggravated burglary at the home of Thaise Ashford, 29, early Saturday. Deputies later learned that Ashford and Shepherd had a romantic relationship that ended in 2005.
Ashford told police that she had earlier ignored phone calls she believed were from Shepherd. About 15 minutes after the last call, someone began throwing rocks at her bedroom window to get her attention. Ashford said she later responded to the disturbance by going to the rear door of her home, where she found Shepherd.
According to Ashford, Shepherd then forced himself into her home on Cameron Drive just outside of Gretna and punched her in the stomach after they argued, Normand said.Ashford told police that she had grabbed a small board to defend herself and locked herself in a rear room on the second floor of her home. Shepherd then followed her into the room, damaging the door.
When Ashford tried to flee, Shepherd locked her outside. After asking to be let back in, Ashford again entered the home and shoved Shepherd outside. Moments later, she went to her bedroom and dialed 911.
Ashford said Shepherd fled then. She later discovered her cellular phone and $100 missing from her home, Normand said. The phone was later found at Shepherd's home when he was arrested.
Ashford sustained abrasions to her left wrist and her lower abdomen, Normand said. ....'
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/07/sen_shephered_arrested_in_jeff.html

Unfortunately, Ms. Ashford hurt domestic violence victims everywhere as she tried to get him off the hook, recanting her testimony in court (Sound familiar?):
"During Tuesday's three-hour hearing, Thaise Ashford recanted domestic abuse claims she filed with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office on Saturday. She initially told police that Shepherd, whom she described as a jilted lover, bashed in her door while she was sleeping, became violent, left her with bruised arms and stomach, and stole her $589 Blackberry Pearl and a $100 bill.
In court, Ashford said she and Shepherd are still intimately involved. She said she manufactured the story for police out of frustration that Shepherd paid her a visit after 3 a.m. instead of at 10 the previous night as they had planned.
Explaining the missing phone, she said she and Shepherd were "fussing" with each other over trust issues and agreed to exchange cell phones to demonstrate that neither was being unfaithful. She explained away the broken door frame by saying it was previously damaged.
Ashford, 29, the transportation coordinator for the New Orleans Recovery School District (She works for the state government, he is a state senator, figure it out), according to a state Department of Education Web site, testified that she yanked Shepherd's shirt at one point, igniting a scuffle inside and outside the house. When he eventually drove away, she threw a rock at his car window and called 911 to report that he had stopped by unannounced and hit her.
"I was angry, and before I even thought about it I did it, " she said.
Attorney John Reed, who called Ashford as a defense witness, asked her directly several times whether Shepherd had attacked her.
"Did Derrick Shepherd punch you?" Reed asked.
"No, he did not, " she said.
"Did he hit you?" he repeated.
"No, he did not, " she said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Magner suggested that Ashford was bowing under great pressure by Shepherd, with the lawmaker going so far as to arrange for Gretna lawyer Bruce Netterville on Monday to draw up an affidavit recanting her report to deputies (Just like Heather Spencer did). He said Shepherd violated a state judge's earlier order to stay away from Ashford by putting her in touch with Netterville, and in turn violated his federal bond requiring him to abide by all federal, state and local laws.
In arguing that Moore should revoke Shepherd's bond, Magner also asked the judge to consider Ashford's testimony part of a common, but troubling, trend in domestic abuse cases...." http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/07/do_not_publish_3.html