Harlan Kirgan
A 20-year-old Eunice man, who was released from prison on Nov. 1 under the state’s program early release program, is back behind bars.
Eunice Police Chief Randy Fontenot said Seth Fuselier, of the 1400 block of West Dudley Avenue, is in the Eunice City Jail on a felony carnal knowledge charge of a juvenile charge.
“For Eunice, this is the first one I know of, but there will be more,” he said.
Fontenot said the crime occurred on Nov. 6. Fuselier was discovered with the girl by her mother, who reported it to police, he said.
Fuselier was arrested Wednesday, a day after Gov. John Bel Edwards was in Washington, D.C., touting the state’s program to cut its prison population.
The Louisiana Justice Reinvestment Act is projected to reduce the prison population by 10 percent and save $262 million over the next decade.
About 1,400 state prisoners were to be released on Nov. 1 as a part of a move to reduce the state’s prison population by 40 percent.
Edwards won bipartisan support for the package.
The program allows a nonviolent offender who has served 35 percent of the sentence to become eligible for parole. The previous standard was 40 percent.
James LeBlanc, secretary of the state Department of Corrections, said the state already discharges about 1,400 inmates a month.
An inmate with a 10-year sentence would be getting out an average of 63 days early, he said. The savings won’t occur because the early release is creating a revolving door for criminals, Fontenot said.
“I was against this when they started this mess,” he said.
“By next year most of the people released will be back in jail,” he said. “It was a bad plan for the state.”
The program is releasing prisoners convicted of nonviolent offenses, but the police chief said that ignores earlier offenses and plea bargains.
“They screwed law enforcement this past legislation session,” he said.
Most sheriffs, district attorneys and police chiefs opposed the early release program, he said. But their associations failed to actively oppose the early release program, he said.
The state is trading the highest incarceration rate for the highest crime and recidivism rates, he said.
On Tuesday in Washington, D.C., the governor said “...those attacking the reforms — citing media coverage of new crimes committed by a handful of inmates released early under the changes — were ‘fear-mongering’ and misrepresenting the package,” according The Advocate.
The Advocate also reported, “Less than an hour later, U.S. Sen. John Kennedy sent out a video blasting the criminal justice overhaul, saying he had ‘zero confidence in the ability of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections to administer it in a way that protects the people of Louisiana from violent criminals.’”
Kennedy also pointed to critical reports by the Legislative Auditor that raised questions about the Department of Corrections’ ability to keep track of inmates and accurately calculate release dates, according to the Baton Rouge newspaper.
The sprawling state prison system — which locks up a higher proportion of residents than any other state in the country — eats up taxpayer money but hadn’t made Louisiana significantly safer, Edwards was quoted as saying in The Advocate. The governor called the wide-ranging changes a “smarter” approach to crime, the report stated.
Fontenot assembled a history of Fuselier’s criminal history.
Seth Fuselier
March 15, 2015, at the age of 18
Arrested by Eunice PD
1. Simple burglary.
2. Felony theft.
3. Illegal carrying of weapons.
4. Obstruction of justice.
March 15, 2015
Arrested by Eunice PD
1. Two counts simple burglary.
March 23, 2015
Pleaded guilty in Eunice City Court to illegal carrying and sentenced to sixmonths in jail, suspended all but 30 days and placed on unsupervised probation for one year.
Oct. 13, 2015
Pleaded guilty in the 27th Judicial District Court to three counts of simple burglary, felony theft, and sentenced to 22 years in prison, all suspended, and placed on unsupervised probation for four years to end Oct. 13, 2019.
Dec.1, 2015
Arrested by Eunice PD
1. Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
Dec. 3, 2015
Arrested by Eunice PD
1. Simple burglary.
2. Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
3. Felony theft of a motor vehicle.
Jan. 15, 2016
Booked into St. Landry Parish Jail to serve the suspended jail sentence of 22 years because he violated his probation but the sentences were ordered to run concurrent, meaning he would only serve six years.
Feb. 7, 2017
Booked into St. Landry Parish Jail to serve sentence of six years, six months on charges of two counts of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, theft of motor vehicle and two counts of felony theft. Sentenced to six years and six months in prison.
Oct. 25, 2017
Transferred to Dixon Correctional Institute.
Nov. 1, 2017
Released from prison by the Governor’s Justice Reinvestment Package.
Nov. 29, 2017
Arrested by Eunice PD
1. Felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile on Nov. 6.