Hung Jury in New Orleans Staged-Accident Murder Trial

Did the jury convict Sean Alfortish and Leon Parker of murdering Cornelius Garrison?

No. A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana deadlocked Thursday on murder charges against Sean Alfortish and Leon Parker, who were accused of killing Cornelius Garrison in September 2020. Judge Wendy Vitter declared a mistrial after more than 30 hours of deliberation over five days.

Garrison had pleaded guilty to staging accidents with trucks and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors before he was shot in the doorway of his mother's home.

Alfortish, a disbarred attorney, was convicted on several fraud charges and two counts of obstruction and suborning perjury. Those convictions involved his efforts to get Garrison out of the U.S. to avoid prosecution. He was acquitted on two other obstruction charges related to allegations he tried to get a fellow jail inmate to lie on his behalf.

Parker already pleaded guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy and faces a sentence of 60 years, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

How the staged-accident scam worked

The murder trial was the latest chapter in Operation Sideswipe, a federal prosecution that has produced more than 50 indictments for wire fraud and mail fraud tied to staged collisions with trucks in New Orleans.

Attorneys Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles were convicted in March for their central roles in the scam and await sentencing while being held in jail. Neither was implicated in the murders, though testimony suggested Motta was aware to some degree of a potential plot against Garrison.

Participants were paid as little as $1,000 to ride along in cars that targeted trucks for collisions. Earlier sentences in Operation Sideswipe have ranged from home confinement to four years in prison.

Ryan Harris testified he recruited the shooter

Ryan Harris, who pleaded guilty for his involvement in the staged accidents and the Garrison murder, testified that he recruited Parker for the shooting and drove Parker after Garrison was killed. That testimony was not enough to get the jury to 12 votes for conviction.

According to NOLA.com, Alfortish's lawyer told media after the verdicts that the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana "brought every resource of the federal government that they could bring. They brought five assistant U.S. attorneys onto the case. They had a phalanx of FBI agents. They tried in every way possible to convict Sean Alfortish of murdering a federal informant. And the jury did not find in their favor."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Payne immediately requested a hearing for a new trial for Alfortish and Parker. Both were returned to custody.

Two ringleaders still await sentencing

Danny Keating, an attorney who pleaded guilty in June 2021 for being a ringleader in the scam, is now set for sentencing October 8. Damian Lebeaud, who pleaded guilty in August 2020 to his own set of charges for involvement in Operation Sideswipe, is to be sentenced December 3. Both men testified in the Motta and Giles case.

Before the trials of Motta, Giles, and Alfortish, none of the other more than 50 indictments in the case for wire fraud, mail fraud, or both had gone to trial. Cases were either settled with a guilty plea or are still awaiting resolution.

What carriers should watch for

Staged-accident scams target trucks because commercial insurance policies carry higher limits than passenger vehicles. The New Orleans operation recruited participants to deliberately cause collisions, then filed fraudulent injury claims.

Carriers should document every accident with dash-cam footage, photos of all vehicles and their positions, and witness statements collected at the scene. Report any collision where the other driver's story changes between the scene and the insurance claim, or where passengers appear who were not visible before impact.

If law enforcement or your insurer asks you to preserve records or testify about a collision, comply fully. Garrison's cooperation with prosecutors made him a target. Carriers who document fraud help shut down the operations that drive up everyone's insurance rates.