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February 16, 2015
A St. Tammany Parish jury deliberated less than two hours Thursday (Feb. 12) before convicting Felix Adams Jr of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of a man during an armed robbery in 2013. Adams also was found guilty of armed robbery and obstruction of justice in the slaying of Leighton Powe Jr.
Judge Allison Penzato set sentencing for March 2. Second-degree murder carries a sentence of life in prison.
“All I can say is ‘Hallelujah,”’ Powe’s father, Leighton Powe Sr., said outside the courtroom as family members hugged each other and wept. Powe said he wanted to thank the Slidell Police Department and St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office for their quick work in solving the murder of his son.
Powe’s mother, Lana Powe, said although the family was thankful for justice, it was not a happy day.
“It’s justice for our son, and that’s what we wanted,” she said. “But I can’t say it’s a happy day because another young man is going to jail.”
Prosecutors said Adams shot Leighton Powe Jr. once in the head inside the cab of a pickup truck during the armed robbery.
That Adams was the trigger man in the slaying was not in question during three days of testimony this week in Penzato’s courtroom at the St. Tammany Parish courthouse. But his attorneys, public defenders John Lindner and Corinne Warren, tried to persuade the jury to return a lesser verdict than second-degree murder.
Lindner pointed to the deal prosecutors made with Trenton Johnson, who was driving the truck in which Powe, 23, was shot, as the blueprint jurors should follow.
Initially booked with first-degree murder and later indicted on a charge of second-degree murder, Johnson pleaded guilty last December to manslaughter in exchange for a 25-year sentence and his testimony in the trials of Adams and Ki’Shion Griffin and Bobby Isidore, who also face second-degree murder charges in the case and will be tried later this year.
In his closing, Lindner tried to convince the jury that Johnson was just as responsible for Powe’s death as Adams was, and therefore Adams should receive the same punishment.
Adams took the stand in his defense, but it did little to sway the jury.
Assistant 22nd Judicial District Attorney Julie Knight, who prosecuted the case along with Harold Bartholomew, told jurors the shooting was not the result of some accident by Adams.
“He never wanted to get caught – that’s all he ever cared about,” Knight said of his motive for killing Powe.
Adams, now 22, shot Powe on Sept. 7, 2013, inside Johnson’s white GMC Sierra truck behind the Dollar General Store on Robert Boulevard during what was supposed to be a marijuana sale. Adams, carrying a .38-caliber revolver, and Isidore were in the back seats of the truck; Johnson was driving.
The plan was to have Powe sit in the empty passenger seat for the transaction. But instead of buying marijuana from Powe, the trio would strong arm him and steal the weed.
