BATON ROUGE – A former inmate alleges that he was unlawfully detained.
Anthony Bentel filed a complaint on June 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana against James M. LeBlanc, James Stewart, Che Troquille, Sheryl Ranatza, Brennan Kelsey, et al. alleging that they violated the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff was due to be released in November 2016 but was held in custody until February 2017 before being released from the River Bend Detention Center. He alleges his overdetention was caused be a series of acts and omissions by state employees, including LeBlanc, the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety.
The plaintiff holds LeBlanc, Stewart, Troquille, Ranatza, Kelsey, et al. responsible because the defendants allegedly failed to timely hold parole revocation hearing and failed to timely process his release.
The plaintiff seeks damages in an amount to be determined at trial, attorney’s fees and costs and all further relief that the court may deem just and proper. He is represented by Katie M. Schwartzmann and Kyra Roby of Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center in New Orleans.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana case number 3:17-cv-00382