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Max Cordova

Man pleads guilty in Lake End Park incident

By ZACHARY FITZGERALD
zfitzgerald@daily-review.com
FRANKLIN — A 40-year-old man, who was accused in August 2014 of attempting to force a 16-year-old girl under water and to remove her top while at Lake End Park in Morgan City, pleaded guilty Tuesday to stalking a victim under age 18, according to Assistant District Attorney Erica Rose.
Max Cordova, 40, of the 300 block of Aycock Street in Morgan City, pleaded guilty in the 16th Judicial District Court to stalking of a victim under the age of 18 and was sentenced to three years hard labor with all but six months suspended, Rose said. Cordova was placed on three years of probation, Rose said.
However, Cordova is an illegal alien so U.S. Immigration and Customs has a hold on Cordova, Rose said. “They are scheduled to deport him,” Rose said. Cordova has already almost served his six months in jail, she said.
As part of the plea deal, Cordova is now a registered sex offender, Rose said. “If, for some reason, he is not deported, he will be on probation for three years (and) be a registered sex offender for 15 years,” Rose said.
On Aug. 31, 2014, Morgan City police arrested Cordova for molestation of a juvenile and simple battery in connection with the incident. As a prosecutor, Rose felt she could not prove molestation based on the facts of the case so she prosecuted Cordova with stalking a victim under age 18, she said.
According to the affidavit for Cordova’s arrest, on Aug. 31, 2014, officers were dispatched to Lake End Park in Morgan City in reference to a person trying to drown a female at the lake.
Upon arrival, the officer observed what appeared to be a disturbance taking place between vehicles parked across from the snowball stand, the affidavit said. The officer saw a man lying on the ground with what appeared to be blood on his face, the affidavit stated.
Someone in the crowd of people said that a man standing over the man lying on the ground had beaten the bloody man, the affidavit said. The officer handcuffed the man accused of beating the man lying on the ground and identified him as Dusty Rineheart, 32, of the 25800 block of Winter Street in Plaquemine, the affidavit stated. Rineheart admitted to physically attacking Cordova, the affidavit said.
Rineheart said that a girl told him that Cordova started to grab her and hold her under water for no reason, according to the affidavit. Cordova then tried to pull the girl’s swimsuit top off, the affidavit stated. Rineheart said he took offense to the behavior Cordova displayed toward the girl and physically beat Cordova, the affidavit stated.
In a Sept. 1, 2014, news release, Morgan City police said the girl was 16 years old and identified Rineheart as a relative of the girl. In that news release, Morgan City Police Spokesman Capt. James Blair said the attack on Cordova by Rineheart “took place well after the initial incident and in another physical location, not in an effort to prevent the initial attack of the juvenile.”
According to the affidavit, the officer observed Cordova was bleeding heavily from his nose. The left side of Cordova’s face was swollen, and Acadian Ambulance was called to check out Cordova’s injuries, according to the affidavit.
Another witness to the incident said she saw Cordova swim next to the girl and then try to force the girl under water, the affidavit said. The girl kicked and screamed at him to leave her alone, the affidavit said. Cordova then tried to pull at her swimsuit top and remove it, at which time the girl ran to the beach begging for someone to help her, the affidavit said.
Police spoke with the girl’s father who said he wanted to pursue charges on behalf of his daughter, the affidavit said. Cordova was arrested and transported to Teche Regional Medical Center to have his injuries examined, the affidavit stated. Officers learned that Cordova sustained a fracture to his orbital socket and his nose, the affidavit said. Rineheart was also arrested for the battery he committed on Cordova, according to the affidavit.
According to St. Mary Parish Clerk of Court records, on Dec. 15, 2014, Rineheart was arraigned on the charge of second degree battery, entered a plea of not guilty and requested a trial by jury. Rineheart’s trial date is set for May 4, according to court records.

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