Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced additional members of her Leadership team. The announcement follows the recent naming of Larry Frieman as Chief Deputy, Benjamin Aguiñaga as Solicitor General, and her entire Communications staff. 

John W. Sinquefield - Executive Counsel

Tracy Short - Assistant Chief Deputy

Stormy Hambrice - Director of Administrative Services

Leon Cannizzaro - Director of Criminal Division

Mike Dupree - Director of Public Protection Division

Christopher B. Hebert - Director of Gaming Division

Carey T. Jones - Director of Civil Division

Joe Picone - Director of Investigation Division

Alex Reinboth - Director of Litigation Division

Renée Roberts Gassen - Director of Outreach

Background:

John W. Sinquefield, Executive Counsel, has been First Assistant to three District Attorneys and two Attorney Generals. He is known for successful prosecutions of Capital Murder cases and for defense of Louisiana’s Death Penalty Statues.  He started as an assistant prosecutor in New Orleans, worked for the National Center for Prosecution Management in Washington D.C., and served as First Assistant District Attorney in Baton Rouge and Lake Charles for over 23 years.  He has been featured in TV productions related to cases he prosecuted. He is known as an expert in the management of prosecution offices and is a past Vice President of the National District Attorneys Association.

Tracy Short, Assistant Chief Deputy, manages special litigation operations and provides guidance to the Attorney General on strategic legal and policy matters.  He is a graduate of Texas Christian University and the Louisiana State University Law Center. 

Stormy Hambrice, Director of Administrative Services, has 25 years of legal experience. Hambrice previously served as a paralegal in the Jindal administration for 7+ years. Prior to that she served as a paralegal to the Office of the Disciplinary Counsel and Kean Miller Law Firm.

Leon Cannizzaro, Director of Criminal Division, has served as the director of the Criminal Division for the last three years. In 1986, Cannizzaro was elected Judge in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court. During his 17-year tenure on that bench, Cannizzaro presided over more jury trials than any judge in the history of Louisiana. He then served five years as a judge on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal. In 2008, Cannizzaro was elected District Attorney of Orleans Parish where he served the completion of an unexpired term and then two full terms.

Mike Dupree, Director of Public Protection Division, has spent over 18 years in service to the State of Louisiana. As the Director of the Public Protection Division for the past 6 years, he has led the Department of Justice’s efforts to protect Louisiana consumers from unfair and deceptive trade practices, to provide equal access in housing for our citizens, and to represent the state in antitrust litigation. He formerly served as Deputy General Counsel for the Louisiana Board of Ethics.

Christopher B. Hebert, Director of Gaming Division, has served under three Attorneys General, including the previous eight years as Director of the Gaming Division. Under his leadership, the Problem Gambling Resource Services program was established.  Led by the Louisiana Department of Justice, Gaming Division, in partnership with the Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Behavioral Health, the program brings awareness to the legal community about problem gambling and the FREE gambling treatment services available for all Louisiana residents. Hebert is a current board member of the Louisiana Bar Foundation and a former member of the Board of Governors for the National Bar Association

Carey T. Jones, Director of Civil Division, has been part of the Civil Division at the Louisiana Department of Justice for the last six years. Jones began practice with Gachassin & Capretz in Lafayette in the defense of medical malpractice and offshore litigation. He continued in practice with Watson, Blanche, Wilson & Posner in Baton in hospital liability defense until 1987 when he joined Fayard & Kuhn handling personal injury cases.  In 1991 he opened an office to represent a number of local government entities and the Louisiana Secretary of State in election matters.

Joe Picone, Director of Investigation Division, has over three decades of law enforcement experience, specializing in criminal investigations. He has served as a deputy sheriff, detective, supervisor, and commander. Picone, a veteran of the Louisiana Army National Guard, earned his college degrees from Loyola University New Orleans, Department of Criminology and Justice.

Alex Reinboth, Director of Litigation Division, has served in the Department of Justice since 2017, including as an Assistant Attorney General and Section Chief in the Civil Division.  Alex has successfully represented the State, the Department of Justice, the Legislature, and other State entities in a number of high-profile matters. 

Renée Roberts Gassen, Director of Outreach, has extensive experience in the legislative process, having worked as a legislative staffer for the joint capital outlay committee, a legislative liaison for Governor M.J. "Mike" Foster, Jr. and the legislative liaison for the St. Tammany Parish President.  Gassen has established professional relationships with elected officials and staff at the parish, state and national levels of government.  

Today, Justin Grant Walters came before Judge Lowell Hazel at the 9th Judicial District Court in Rapides Parish, and pleaded guilty to:

Count 1: Forcible Rape

Count 2: Second-degree kidnapping

This stems from an incident in April of 2015.

Both of the charges are designated as crimes of violence. The forcible rape charge is also a sex offense that carries a lifetime registration requirement.

The Court imposed a sentence today for Walters to serve 25 years for each count within the Louisiana Department of Corrections.

"The guilty pleas today from this serial rapist are the culmination of the hard work of the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with my office’s Criminal Division. The Louisiana Department of Justice will continue to protect the rights of crime victims in our state and bring violent sexual predators like this to justice,” said Attorney General Liz Murrill.

Walters was already in jail serving time due to similar rape offenses in Grant Parish. 

He has now been convicted of committing four (4) separate sex crimes in multiple parishes.