A Jefferson Parish judge has delivered a judgment against Gerald “Bird” Barker, sentencing him to consecutive life terms for the murders of two individuals in a Westwego residence, a location from which Barker occasionally sold crack cocaine, as reported by the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office.
The 37-year-old was sentenced on Wednesday after a jury took approximately 20 minutes on Dec. 4 to convict him for the second-degree murders of Linda Turner, 68, and Curtis Thomas, 51 and for a string of other charges including obstruction of justice possession of cocaine and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm which he had been barred from owning due to a prior cocaine possession conviction, according to the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office.
On the evening of Jan. 17, 2023, the victims were discovered by an acquaintance who immediately contacted emergency services, deputies arrived to find Thomas deceased at the scene, lying in a pool of his own blood and Turner severely wounded from gunshot injuries, she succumbed to her injuries shortly after at a hospital, as per the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office.
Jurors heard that evidence placed Barker at the crime scene, with an expert in crime scene reconstruction testifying that Thomas was initially shot in the back of the head, as he stood just inside the front door, and then again in the face after falling to the ground; Turner was shot multiple times while seated on her living room sofa, Barker, who Ran from the house immediately after the incident, was captured on surveillance video by a nearby residence and was later found at an addiction treatment facility in New Orleans in March, according to the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office report.
During the court proceedings, the ex-wife of Curtis Thomas gave a victim-impact statement, expressing, "I hope and pray that you never see the streets again. Ever," which was later shared by the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office. Prior to sentencing, Judge Frank Brindisi labeled Barker as "incorrigible" and imposed the life sentences to be served without the possibility of probation, parole, or suspension, in addition to separate sentences for his other convictions including a $100,000 fine for obstruction of justice and a 20-year sentence for the firearms charge.
Lee Wings, Barker’s accomplice, pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to second-degree murder and received a sentence of three years of active probation; Wings assisted Barker in disposing of the murder weapon into the Mississippi River and facilitating his escape after the murders, a narrative supported by law enforcement and shared in detail in the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office announcement.
