September 7, 2023
A Shreveport man was convicted of a felony weapon possession charge in absentia in Caddo District Court in April and fled captivity, was sentenced Thursday, September 7, 2023, to 18 years at hard labor in prison.
Ladarrius Hodge, 25, who was free on bond, was sentenced by District Judge Ramona Emanuel, whose court he fled April 25, 2023, one day after his trial on possession of a firearm by a convicted felon began. He was unanimously convicted a day after that, and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. He eluded law enforcement for several months but finally was arrested in late July in Bossier Parish.
Hodge was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by Shreveport Police April 2, 2021 for multiple traffic violations at Fairfield Avenue and 70th Street. Officers who stopped the car smelled marijuana smoke from the car and asked Hodge and the driver, his girlfriend, to exit the vehicle.
During a search of a backpack Hodge had, officers found a 9mm Hi-Point handgun with a high-capacity extended magazine. At trial, Hodge’s girlfriend attempted to testify the gun was in her possession, but under prosecution questioning she admitted the gun belonged to Hodge.
Assistant District Attorneys Christopher Bowman and Fernando Grider Jr. prosecuted. Katie Ferguson and Evan McMichael defended Hodge.
The case was docket No. 382125.
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