July 4 subject gets 12 years

• By JOE GYAN JR.
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Jul 28, 2009 - Page: 1B

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A 20-year-old Baton Rouge man, described by the mother of one of his victims as a “menace to society,’’ was sentenced to 12 years in prison Monday for his role in the 2007 Fourth of July shooting on the Mississippi River levee that left two bystanders paralyzed.

State District Judge Chip Moore refused to allow Devin Deon Collins to remain free on bond while his defense team appeals his conviction and sentence.

Robert Tucker, one of his attorneys, called the sentence “a bit excessive.’’

Prosecutor Aaron Brooks disagreed, saying the judge “went to bat for our community.’’ Before Moore imposed the sentence, Brooks told him, “This is East Baton Rouge Parish. It’s (the violence) got to stop.’’

Rodney Messina, who also represents Collins, said he believes the judge handed down such a severe sentence to set an example.

Collins was immediately taken into custody. He had been under house arrest since his family posted a $350,000 bond in February 2008.

Moore, who found Collins guilty in April on two counts of aggravated battery, sentenced him to six years on each count and ordered the terms to run consecutively.

“I wish there was something I could do to undo what happened to Kayla Smith and Robert Blunschi (Jr.),’’ the judge said moments before sentencing Collins.

Blunschi’s mother, Glenda Blunschi, said the court system “has not let us down.’’

Collins and another Baton Rouge man, Marvin Brown, each were charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder and one count of criminal conspiracy in the wounding of Smith and Blunschi near the USS Kidd Veterans Memorial and Museum.

Smith, 16 at the time, and Blunschi, then 21, were leaving the annual July Fourth fireworks display on the riverfront when she was shot in the abdomen and he was shot in the head.

Smith, 18, suffered serious spinal cord injuries and is a paraplegic, her mother, Jennifer Scallan, testified Monday.

Blunschi, 21, suffered brain damage, is paralyzed on the left side and lives in a nursing home where he is fed through a tube, his parents testified.