Lafayette millionaire takes plea deal in 2017 kidnapping case of estranged wife
By Katie Gagliano
The Acadiana Advocate
July 26, 2021
Lawrence Handley
A bizarre 2017 kidnapping case involving a Lafayette millionaire, his estranged wife and suspected hired kidnappers who later drowned while fleeing police came to a quiet close Monday evening after Lawrence Michael Handley accepted a plea deal.
Handley, 53, has been incarcerated at the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center since August 2017, when he was apprehended at a Slidell motel and arrested in the kidnapping of his estranged wife, Schanda Handley.
He appeared in court Monday shackled in an orange and tan striped jumpsuit, with a long gray beard and shoulder length graying hair. He sat calmly for hours as other cases were addressed and his team of attorneys worked with the state to reach a plea agreement; once taken up at 5 p.m. by 15th Judicial District Court Judge Scott Privat, the hearing took all of 10 minutes.
Handley was originally indicted on counts of conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, attempted second-degree kidnapping, second-degree kidnapping and violation of a protective order.
The 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office agreed to waive both conspiracy charges and the protective order charge and reduce the aggravated kidnapping charge to second-degree kidnapping in exchange for a guilty plea.
In negotiations, they agreed both second-degree kidnapping charges will carry a possible sentence of 15 to 35 years and the attempted second-degree kidnapping charge will carry a maximum sentence of 20 years, all to be served concurrently, Privat said.
Prosecutor Donald Knecht said he felt a plea deal was the right path because it secured a substantial prison sentence that the victims were supportive of, saved the victims from the pressure of a trial and put to rest a widespread and complex case that involved multiple law enforcement agencies from two states and a slew of witnesses and evidence.
“I’m glad for the victims because the most important thing in a plea over a trial is there are no appeals...that really gives them a lot of peace of mind. The fact the victims were glad, not just satisfied but glad, and we can give them that kind of closure and ability to move on is the most important thing to me,” Knecht said.
Handley will next have a sentencing hearing after a pre-sentencing investigation is completed. His attorney, Kevin Stockstill, said while they were confident they could counter the prosecution’s arguments, a life sentence was on the table as a possibility for the aggravated kidnapping charge, and they wanted to ensure Handley has a shot at life after prison.
Stockstill said he’s hopeful Handley’s good deeds in the community, including philanthropic work and drug addiction services provided through Townsend Addiction Treatment Center, which he sold in 2015, coupled with his lack of violent criminal history, and mitigating factors like his battles to overcome addiction and mental illness, will work in his favor to secure a sentence on the lower end of the agreed upon range.
“Mr. Handley did a lot of good things in his life,” Stockstill. “You have to consider the good he’s done, especially when he’s been sober.”
“We feel he was initially overcharged and that the district attorney’s office was overzealous in their prosecution. We’re glad we got the DA to see the light,” attorney Scott Hawkins said.
Handley pleaded guilty in the kidnapping of his then-estranged wife, Schanda Handley, who was kidnapped at gunpoint by two men from the couple’s Founders Street home on Aug. 6, 2017, and taken away handcuffed in the back of a white van. A friend of Schanda’s and a minor were home at the time of the kidnapping and were also corralled by the kidnappers, the adult handcuffed, arrest documents said.
Schanda Handley was recovered later that same day after the kidnappers attracted police attention while driving on the shoulder of Interstate 10 to circumvent a traffic crash. The duo was pursued by Iberville and West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies to a Turner Industries facility near La. 1. They abandoned the van after it became trapped in mud, and Schanda Handley was found in the back.
The accused kidnappers — identified as Sylvester Bracey and Arsenio Montreal Haynes, two 27-year-old men from Jackson, Mississippi — drowned while fleeing law enforcement and their bodies were discovered in the Intracoastal Waterway near Port Allen on Aug. 7, 2017.
Handley and his estranged wife had been involved in a contentious divorce at the time of the kidnapping. In sanity evaluations conducted during the case, examiners also noted Handley reported a history of relapsed substance abuse in the months leading to the kidnapping and mental health struggles after ending long-term psychiatric care.
The couple was granted a divorce in March 2018.
1 comment:
You can't get good help any more.
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