Man pleads guilty to being accessory to 2014 assault

A 37-year-old Houma man pleaded guilty Tuesday to accessory after the fact to aggravated assault in connection with an April 2014 incident in Morgan City during which another man allegedly pointed a shotgun in a woman’s face, according to St. Mary Parish Clerk of Court records.
Joshua Bertrand, 37, of Houma, had been charged with aggravated assault with a firearm and possession of drug paraphernalia first offense. After Bertrand’s guilty plea Tuesday, Judge Ed Leonard dismissed the remaining charges against Bertrand, court records stated.
Also in connection with the incident, Harold Jones Jr., 38, of New Orleans, was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm, illegal carrying of a weapon in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, taking contraband into penal institutions and possession of crack cocaine.
On Sept. 8, 2014, Jones pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a firearm and possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance, according to clerk of court records. Judge James McClelland dismissed the remaining pending charges, court records said.
On April 3, 2014, Morgan City Police were dispatched to Ninth Street in reference to aggravated assault with a firearm, according to an affidavit.
The caller said the suspect, Jones, left the area in a pickup truck. Officers located the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop, the affidavit said. Jones and the driver, Bertrand, were detained.
Inside the truck, officers found a 12-gauge shotgun with a cut off barrel and cut off butt stock on the floor behind the passenger seat, the affidavit said.
Bertrand stated that Jones asked him for a ride to a Ninth Street home to pick up his clothes, the affidavit said. When the two arrived at the home, Bertrand said Jones produced a shotgun saying that Jones wanted to hide the gun at the residence, the affidavit said.
While speaking to Bertrand, an anonymous caller said Bertrand tossed an object under the vehicle, the affidavit said. Police located a pipe used to smoke narcotics, the affidavit said. Bertrand admitted that he threw the pipe under the vehicle in an attempt to discard the evidence, the affidavit said.
Bertrand told police that he and Jones agreed that if he drove Jones to the Ninth Street home to rob the resident of drugs, Jones would give Bertrand a portion of the narcotics, the affidavit stated.
The alleged victim in the incident stated that Jones came to the home and knocked on the door, the affidavit said. When she opened the door, Jones pointed a 12-gauge shotgun to her forehead said she was “going to die today,” the affidavit said. The victim said she feared for her life, quickly backed away and closed the door, the affidavit said.
For Bertrand’s guilty plea, he was sentenced to one year of supervised probation, court records stated.