Raceland man convicted of killing two people appeals life sentence

An appeals court is reviewing the case of a Raceland man convicted of killing two people in 2018.

Kerry Alexander, 37, was convicted June 23 of two counts of second-degree murder in the slayings of 26-year-old Marcel Turner and 23-year-old Jeremiah Ballard.

His brother, Jerrell Alexander, 31, was also convicted in the killings Dec. 19, 2019, and was given two consecutive life sentences.

In his appeal, Kerry Alexander argues that the court made an error when it gave jury instructions and that his two consecutive life sentences are excessive.

The 1st Circuit Court of Appeal in Baton Rouge is scheduled to review the case Wednesday.

Related: 'You changed our lives forever': Raceland man sentenced to life in prison for double murder

Prosecutors said the shootings occurred in broad daylight Dec. 15, 2018. Two masked gunmen barged into a garage on Market Street in Raceland, demanded drugs and money and opened fire. One victim survived and later identified the Alexander brothers as the shooters, authorities said.

The witness described the shooters as wearing dark clothes and gloves with camouflage masks. One of the gunmen carried a backpack and the other held a Louis Vuitton bag, prosecutors said.

Coordinating with the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, authorities said they found the Alexander brothers at an IHOP in Boutte and took them into custody. Investigators found two bags near the IHOP dumpsters containing handguns, gloves and camouflage masks.

Assistant District Attorney Joe Soignet, who handles appeals cases for the Lafourche Parish District Attorney’s Office, said the defendant’s claims are without merit.

“Even a first offender may be sentenced to consecutive life sentences for multiple killings,” Soignet said in court papers. “This honorable court has noted that consecutive sentences are not necessarily excessive, provided that the record amply supports the trial court’s decision. There is nothing in this case at bar which demonstrates that either the defendant or his circumstances are exceptional. Thus, there is no basis for suggesting that a sentence of life in prison is excessive.”

A witness testified that Kerry Alexander played a bigger role in the deadly armed robbery than his brother, Soignet said.

“At the trial of this matter, (a witness) testified that it was Kerry Alexander who while armed with a handgun, entered the residence and ordered the victims to ‘give it up,’ ” Soignet said. “His brother, Jerrell, said nothing at the time.

"Thus, of the two co-defendants, the appellant herein was the more active in the armed robbery which ultimately claimed the lives of the two victims. Nonetheless, consecutive life sentences were also imposed against the appellant’s co-defendant, Jerrell Alexander, following his conviction for the same killings.”

Also: Raceland man faces mandatory life in prison after his conviction in double murder

Kerry Alexander also contends the trial judge didn’t tell the jury it had a “right to reject outright the testimony of any witness who it found to be lacking in credibility.”

Soignet said there was no “functional difference” between what the defendant asked for and what was read out to the jury.

“The trial court correctly informed the jury that they were to be the sole judges of the credibility of witnesses and instructed them on the principles they were to apply in making that determination,” he said.

The appeals court is expected to decide on the matter in about six weeks.

Kerry Alexander is incarcerated in the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola.

— Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 448-7639 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanVCopp.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Raceland man appeals life sentence for double murder