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Dropping Mardi Gras gun cases a mistake, prosecutor says

FILE - New Orleans Police Department Detective Louis Martinez Jr., next to New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, interim NOPD Superintendent Michelle Woodfork, Col. Lamar Davis of the Louisiana State Police, right, along with other members of law enforcement, NOFD and EMS walk down Bourbon Street just after midnight ceremoniously closing down Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams said Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, that an assistant prosecutor wrongly decided to drop prosecution of more than a dozen illegal gun possession cases arising from Mardi Gras season arrests in exchange for the suspects' agreeing to forfeit their weapons. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP, File) FILE - Police work the scene of a shooting at the Krewe of Bacchus parade on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, in New Orleans. Five people were shot, including a young girl, during a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, police said, and a suspect was in custody. New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams said Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, that an assistant prosecutor wrongly decided to drop prosecution of more than a dozen illegal gun possession cases arising from Mardi Gras season arrests in exchange for the suspects' agreeing to forfeit their weapons. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP, File) FILE - New Orleans Police Capt. Michelle Woodfork, right, is introduced as the new interim police superintendent during a press conference at New Orleans City Hall, Dec. 20, 2022. Mayor LaToya Cantrell listens at left. New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams said Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, that an assistant prosecutor wrongly decided to drop prosecution of more than a dozen illegal gun possession cases arising from Mardi Gras season arrests in exchange for the suspects' agreeing to forfeit their weapons. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP, File) FILE - Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams talks with the media on Feb. 26, 2021, in New Orleans. Williams, now the New Orleans district attorney, said Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, that an assistant prosecutor wrongly decided to drop prosecution of more than a dozen illegal gun possession cases arising from Mardi Gras season arrests in exchange for the suspects' agreeing to forfeit their weapons. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP, File)
Dropping Mardi Gras gun cases a mistake, prosecutor says