, Publisher
08-24-2009
The law is sometimes a confusing thing, but the men and women who make the laws in this country at the very least are required to offer logical and rational reasons for the things that they do — even if those reasons sometimes don’t make sense to some of us.
With all the controversy surrounding Grambling Mayor Martha Andrus, it is obvious that this is an unusual circumstance for Lincoln Parish because it is not every day that an elected official here is arrested.
Fortunately, for all of us, we are all entitled to a trial by a jury of our peers, and the justice system is designed to ensure fairness and objectivity.
Toward that end, members of the district attorneys office in Lincoln Parish have decided to have state prosecutors handle the Andrus case.
The arrest warrant for Andrus said that on March 17, 2008, city of Grambling assistant city clerk Elizabeth L. Jones was arrested by the Grambling Police Department and that Andrus reimbursed Jones for her bail bond with a $210 check issued from the city of Grambling’s general fund account.
On Jan. 23, City of Grambling employee Virginia Gill was arrested by the GPD and paid $270 to A&AAAA Bail Bonds of Ruston for her release.
The warrant said that five days later, on Jan. 28, Andrus reimbursed Gill with a $270 check drawn from the city’s general fund account.
The warrant states that on Jan. 30, 2009, after having been advised of her rights, Andrus admitted to LSP detectives that she used city funds to reimburse Elizabeth Jones and Gill after their arrests.
Despite the arrests of Gill and Jones, attorneys in the D.A.’s office never filed charges against the two.
That was probably the best move looking toward the final outcome. Imagine a scenario where attorneys in that office were called to testify in a case they were prosecuting. It would raise many questions, and for that, it is only appropriate that state attorneys prosecute Andrus.
Other Top Stories
