Governor Landry says bond set for I-110 shooting suspect was not high enough
BATON ROUGE — A 63-year-old woman was arrested after allegedly carjacking a vehicle and firing shots at passing cars on Interstate 110 on Sunday, and the case has since drawn attention from Louisiana's governor.
Gov. Jeff Landry posted on social media that, in his opinion, the bond set for Leila Habib was not high enough. He says Habib also previously volunteered with a group working to recall him and Attorney General Liz Murrill.
Habib crashed her black Nissan near Harding Boulevard, got out of the car and began firing at passing cars, grazing one driver's head, according to arrest documents.
Witness Marquita Hawkins was driving on I-110 when the shooting happened.
"Any cars that tried to pass her up, she was shooting at the vehicles," Hawkins said.
Hawkins also described Habib shooting into the air.
"Just randomly shooting," she said.
Trending News
WBRZ traffic cameras caught the aftermath as police arrived.
Landry's post took issue with Habib's bond being set at $100,000. The governor drew a comparison to Murrill, whose bond was set at $400,000 after she was indicted by a New Orleans grand jury.
Baton Rouge defense attorney Franz Borghardt said the two cases are not comparable.
"It’s apples and pineapples,” Borghardt said. “We can't look at those two bonds and compare them."
On July 2, an Orleans Parish grand jury indicted Murrill for allegedly sending threatening letters to elected officials. The Louisiana Supreme Court recalled the arrest warrant days later.
Borghardt explained that judges and commissions don't follow a specific rulebook when determining bond, especially across parish lines.
"Baton Rouge has no say in Orleans bond, and Orleans has no say in Baton Rouge bond," Borghardt said.
Habib is facing attempted murder charges and criminal damage to property. Her case is expected to move through court slower than Murrill's.