DA won't prosecute Rineheart in alleged retaliation case

The district attorney decided not to prosecute a 32-year-old Plaquemine man accused of beating a Morgan City man in apparent retaliation for an attack on a 16-year-old girl at Lake End Park. The Morgan City man was in the country illegally, was deported and is unavailable to testify as a witness, according to sources.
On Oct. 26, Assistant District Attorney Anthony Saleme filed a motion to end the prosecution of Dusty Rineheart, 32, of Plaquemine, which Judge Anthony Thibodeaux granted, according to St. Mary Parish clerk of court records.
Rineheart was arrested Aug. 31, 2014, and charged with second-degree battery for allegedly beating Max Cordova of Morgan City at Lake End Park.
Morgan City police also arrested Cordova and charged him with molestation of a juvenile and simple battery in connection with the attack on the girl.
On Sept. 15, 2014, a grand jury indicted Rineheart on the charge of second-degree battery, court records stated.
On Oct. 10, 2014, the district attorney filed a bill of information charging Cordova with stalking and simple battery in connection with the incident at Lake End Park.
Saleme said Cordova, 40, was in the country illegally and was turned over to immigration authorities. Saleme hasn’t been able to locate Cordova.
“Obviously, I need him (Cordova) as a witness in the case. I haven’t had a change of heart as to whether his (Rineheart’s) actions were self-defense,” Saleme said.
A day after the alleged incident, Morgan City Police Chief James Blair, who was the department’s spokesman at the time, released a statement defending officers’ decision to arrest Rineheart.
“According to witnesses as well as statements from Rineheart, he (Rineheart) became enraged and attacked Cordova causing severe facial injuries which required Cordova to be transported to the local hospital for treatment,” Blair said.
“This attack took place well after the initial incident and in another physical location, not in an effort to prevent the initial attack of the juvenile,” Blair said. Cordova was in the parking lot at Lake End Park about 75 yards to 100 yards from the water when Rineheart attacked him.
The 16-year-old victim of the alleged attack by Cordova told officers that she did not want to pursue criminal charges against Cordova, Blair said.
“The Morgan City Police Department sought out and contacted the juvenile’s parents to determine what action should be taken to protect the rights of the juvenile victim and to keep the parents informed,” Blair said.
On Feb. 3, Cordova pleaded guilty to stalking, and on the motion of Assistant District Attorney Erica Rose, Judge Vincent Borne ordered the simple battery charged dismissed, court records stated.
Rose couldn’t prove molestation based on the facts of the case so she prosecuted Cordova with stalking a victim under age 18, she said.
Cordova was sentenced to three years of hard labor. However, Borne suspended all but six months of the sentence in St. Mary Parish jail and placed Cordova on three years of probation, according to court records.
According to an affidavit, on Aug. 31, 2014, Morgan City police officers were dispatched to Lake End Park in regards to someone trying to drown a female at Lake Palourde.
Officers saw a group of people standing near a snowball stand. An officer discovered a man lying on the ground with blood on his face and another man standing over him.
Someone in the crowd said the man standing over the man on the ground had beaten him. The alleged attacker was identified as Rineheart and alleged victim identified as Cordova.
Rineheart said he was told by a juvenile female that Cordova grabbed her and started to hold her under the water and then tried to remove her swimsuit top, the affidavit said. Rineheart “took offense” to Cordova’s behavior and “physically beat” Cordova.
An officer observed that Cordova was bleeding heavily from his nose and that the left side of his face was swollen.
The girl said Cordova had tried to hold her under water for no reason, and then tried to remove her swimsuit top.
Another witness said she saw Cordova swimming next to the girl and trying to force her under water. The witness said the girl kicked and screamed at Cordova to leave her alone, and Cordova tried to pull off her swimsuit top. The girl “then ran to the beach begging for someone to help her,” the affidavit said.
An officer spoke with the girl’s father by phone, who said he wanted to pursue charges on behalf of his daughter.
Cordova was charged with molestation of a juvenile and simple battery and taken to Teche Regional Medical Center to have his injuries examined. Rineheart was also arrested and charged with second-degree battery for his alleged attack on Cordova. Cordova sustained a fracture to his orbital socket and nose, the affidavit said.