The Defendants Were Arrested After Independence Police Were Notified That the Men, All

Amite- District Attorney Scott M. Perrilloux reports that on August 5, 2013, Town of Independence employees John Henson, Charles Garafola, and Jeffers Cook, pleaded no contest to multiple charges of Unauthorized Use of an Access Card.

The defendants were arrested after Independence police were notified that the men, all employed by the town at the time, had used town funds to purchase gas for their personal or family vehicles. In addition to gas purchases, 49-year-old John Henson also used town money to purchase an alternator for his personal vehicle.

John Henson, of Church Street, Roseland, LA, pleaded no contest to two counts of Unauthorized Use of an Access Card, and Theft under $500.00. He was sentenced to serve six months in the parish jail. The sentence was suspended and the defendant was placed on two years of probation and ordered to pay restitution.

Jeffers Cook, age 55, of Velam Road, Independence, LA, pleaded no contest to three counts of Unauthorized Use of an Access Card, and was sentenced to serve six months in the parish jail. The sentence was suspended and the defendant was placed on two years of probation and ordered to pay restitution.

Charles Garafola, age 55, of W. Wilson, Hammond, LA, pleaded no contest to two counts of Unauthorized Use of an Access Card, and was sentenced to serve six months in the parish jail. The sentence was suspended and the defendant was placed on two years of probation and ordered to pay restitution.

Henson, Cook, and Garafola are scheduled to appear in court for Monitoring on Oct. 30, 2013. The remaining defendant in the case, Reginald Jefferson, age 54, of Independence, LA, is charged with nine counts of Unauthorized Use of an Access Card. He is scheduled for a bench trial in Division G on September 16, 2013.

Assistant District Attorney Pat Dunn prosecuted the case, and Judge Doug Hughes handed down the sentence, said Perrilloux.

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