Marksville Moonlighting Marshal To Get 7 1/2 Years In Prison For Killing Autistic Boy

MARKSVILLE, LA — Norris Greenhouse Jr. and Derrick Stafford were moonlighting as deputy city marshals in Marksville, Louisiana, two years ago when they fired 18 shots into a car following a chase, killing a 6-year-old boy with autism and leaving his father critically hurt. Defense attorneys said the officers acted in self-defense and accused the boy's father of leading officers on a dangerous, high-speed chase.

But body camera footage from another police officer showed suspect Christopher Few had his hands raised inside his vehicle when gunshots rang out.

Greenhouse — who was charged with murder in the death of Jeremy Mardis — pleaded guilty Friday to negligent homicide and is scheduled to be sentenced next week to 7 ½ years in prison. (For more information on Mardis' killing and other Baton Rouge-area stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Stafford was convicted of manslaughter in March and received a 40-year prison term. He testified that he didn't know the boy was in the car and didn't see Few's hands in the air. But he said he shot at the car because he feared Few was going to back up and hit Greenhouse with his vehicle.

Investigators traced 14 shell casings to Stafford's gun and four other casings to Greenhouse's gun. Three of the four bullet fragments recovered from Jeremy's body matched Stafford's weapon; another couldn't be matched to either deputy.

The plea deal calls for Greenhouse to be sentenced next Wednesday to 7 ½ years in prison, said Ruth Wisher, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Jeff Landry's office.

Landry said the plea "brings an end to a terrible tragedy."

"Jeremy Mardis was killed through senseless and irresponsible acts of violence," he said in a statement, adding that "those responsible for Jeremy's killing have been held accountable."

Still pending, however, is a federal lawsuit the boy's relatives filed last year against the central Louisiana town of Marksville, claiming city officials failed to properly train the deputies on the use of deadly force.

"I think the family is satisfied that Norris Greenhouse Jr. has accepted responsibility for his part in this tragic set of circumstances," said Steven Lemoine, an attorney for the slain boy's family.

Greenhouse's attorney, George Higgins, said he thinks his client "just realized this needs to end — not only for Avoyelles Parish but especially for his family."

Stafford and Greenhouse are black. Few is white, and so was his son. Defense attorneys accused investigators of rushing to judgment, arresting the officers less than a week after the shooting. One of Stafford's attorneys has questioned whether investigators would have acted more deliberately if the officers had been white.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press

Photo credit: Screenshot of YouTube video