DA disagrees with court after judge clears former Baton Rouge officer’s guilty verdict
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore’s office says they strongly disagree with the court after a former Baton Rouge police officer was cleared of a charge he was found guilty of in March.
On Thursday, April 18, Judge Eboni Johnson Rose changed the verdict for the malfeasance in office charge Donald Steele Jr., 37, was facing. She said in court that she made a mistake in her verdict last month.
“Judge Rose’s unprecedented action is procedurally improper, as a judge cannot modify a verdict in a bench trial. For this reason, the state will seek review of this procedurally improper ruling with the First Circuit Court of Appeal,” Moore said.
Steele was found guilty of misdemeanor malfeasance in office but not guilty of a kidnapping charge, according to court records. He was accused of making sexual advances toward a 19-year-old woman during a traffic stop in 2021.
After Thursday’s verdict change, the defense team released a statement saying, “The judge’s decision confirms that we always knew and fought for. Donald Steele is innocent. Reports to the contrary were premature and did not take into account the Court’s determination that no sexual battery occurred. The State does not have the right to appeal an acquittal. In the event they attempt to, we look forward to maintaining the Court’s declaration of Mr. Steele’s innocence in any and all forums.”
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Moore said the only verdict for malfeasance in office in the state of Louisiana is a felony, adding that there is no misdemeanor grade verdict allowed. He said the court filed into the record its written verdict of not guilty of second-degree kidnapping and guilty of malfeasance in office (La.R.S. 14:134).
“We believed in the strength of the state’s case and, most importantly, the credibility of our victim, who did everything one would ask an individual in this difficult position to do,” Moore said. “That is, she immediately came forward, cooperated with authorities, and testified at trial about everything she endured that night. Her testimony was entirely supported by all the evidence uncovered in the investigation. The corroboration of her testimony is outlined in the pleadings we filed in the record.”
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