[StBernard] Contempt hearing for alleged courthouse cameraman postponed

[Westley Annis]

Contempt hearing for alleged courthouse cameraman postponed

Published: Friday, April 27, 2012, 7:37 AM     Updated: Friday, April 27,
2012, 1:54 PM

 By Paul Purpura, The Times-Picayune 

A Chalmette man accused of using his cellphone's camera to take intimidating
pictures of a witness who just testified against his sister in the Jefferson
Parish Courthouse has been ordered to appear in court next month. Keith
Henderson, 54, could face up to six months in jail if found in contempt of
court.

Judge Ellen Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court ordered Henderson to
return to her courtroom May 10, after hearing Thursday the Jefferson Parish
Sheriff's Office is still investigating the allegation. The hearing had been
set for Thursday.

Henderson allegedly snapped a picture or pictures of the witness April 16,
after the man testified he saw Henderson's sister, Carol Banks, 63, of
Kenner, collide with two cars on Interstate 10 in Kenner, and then continue
driving westbound to the Loyola Drive exit, where she pulled over, got out
of her car and checked her trunk.

Banks' car struck the rear of a Toyota Sienna minivan driven by Gerard
Faucheaux, 42, of Meadville, Miss. The collision knocked the Sienna sideways
and sent it sliding across the interstate's median and into the path of an
oncoming Chevy Tahoe.

Faucheaux and his parents, Nelson and Shirley Faucheaux, both 72, were
killed.

Banks was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide, after a blood
test ordered by police about two hours after the crash revealed an extremely
elevated level of dextromethorphan, a common ingredient in cough
suppressants that can cause disassociated halucinations.

Her attorneys, however, provided their own laboratory test results showing
her body is unable to metabolize dextromethorphan, which caused false blood
test results.

Banks said she had taken only one cough suppressant pill earlier that day,
and that immediately preceding the collision with the Sienna, she trying to
evade an angry motorist who tailgated her in a black sports-utility vehicle.
After pulling off I-10 at Loyola, she called 911 to report what she
described as an "accident," and said she "blacked out."

A doctor hired by the defense testified he reviewed her case and concluded
she fainted from the fear and anxiety she experienced of being pursued by
the black SUV.

A Jefferson Parish jury convicted Banks of the lesser charges of negligent
homicide, whose punishment ranges from probation to five years in prison.
Kovach is scheduled to sentence Banks May 10, the same day her brother is
scheduled to appear for a contempt hearing.

Henderson has not been arrested. He was "caught taking pictures" of the
prosecution witness, according to a minute entry filed into his sister's
criminal case file. The phone was confiscated and turned over to the
Sheriff's Office for an investigation, according to the minute entry.

The contempt proceding likely is based on the accusation that Henderson
violated a local court rule that bars taking pictures in the courthouse.

However, a criminal charge, such as obstruction of justice, potentially
could result if authorities conclude Henderson was trying to intimidate a
witness.

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