Garrett J Ward: Louisiana realtor who fatally beat man, 60, in racist attack gets 30 years in jail
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA: A real-estate agent from Louisiana was sentenced to 30 years in prison for fatally beating a 60-year-old man in a drunken, racially charged attack in New Orleans, as explained by the prosecutors. Garrett J Ward was convicted in May for manslaughter in the January 2018 brutal attack that led to the death of Arnold Jackson after 12 days. Witnesses claimed that Garrett hurled "several racial slurs" toward Jackson, who was black, District Attorney Jason Williams said.
As confirmed by NOLA.com, Jackson died of blunt force injuries after the attack that took place outside of Pontchartrain Hotel and also suffered a broken jaw with severe bleeding to his brain. In a statement to the New York Post, District Attorney Jason Williams said, "As district attorney, I am committed to holding violent offenders accountable. In this case, the lack of humanity and respect shown by the defendant as he viciously attacked the victim, Mr. Jackson— a 60-year-old black man — was reprehensible.” Williams promised justice to Jackson's family and claimed that the Monday hearing justified his promise.
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The New Orleans coroner confirmed the injuries caused to Jackson and said that he died two weeks after the January 6, 2018, incident in the 2000 block of St Charles Avenue. Kenyada Schnyder, Jackson's daughter, previously told the press that attending the court was hard on her and that she missed many important milestones with her father. She said, "These past four years have been very hard on me. Outside of being present for every single court date, I missed out on special moments with my father like him walking me down the aisle at my wedding and celebrating his birthday or Father’s Day.” She also said that she "really would want [Garrett] to suffer and, you know, basically be punished for what he has done."
Who is Garrett J Ward?
Garrett J Ward is a 30-year-old real-estate agent from New Orleans, Louisiana. Prosecutors had previously argued that he acted out of self-defense. His defense attorneys argued that Garrett found Jackson armed with a knife while reaching for his cell phone in his pocket, as reported by NOLA.com. After 6 hours of deliberation, the jury rejected Garrett's claim of self-defense.
The attorney also claimed that they were planning to file a motion to appeal the sentence later this week. The outlet reported a statement issued by Garrett's attorney Andrew Bevinetto, saying, "We were hoping to receive a sentence that was toward the lower end of the zero to 40-year guideline. Not only are we upset with the sentence, but we believe it is excessive, given the facts around this case in particular.” District Attorney Jason Williams went on to thank some officials who were involved in this case saying, "I am proud of ADAs Christian Hebert-Pryor and Narcotics Chief Andre Gaudin as well as Victim Witness Advocate Chief Alison Morgado for their hard work on this case. Special thanks to Detectives Nicholas Williams and Charles Maw for their great detective work as well as Officer Donald Wise for his quick assessment of the situation and arrest of Garrett Ward."