Group wants inmate back at state prison

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, July 19, 2000

VIDALIA, La. – A&160;crime victims group is asking the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office to return a parish inmate convicted of manslaughter to state custody.

The Louisiana Crime Victims Coalition will deliver petitions to Concordia Sheriff Randy Maxwell asking that Pete Guillot be taken to a State Department of Corrections Facility, said President James Sandifer.

But Maxwell said Tuesday that because the Concordia Parish Jail, where Guillot has been housed since he was convicted nine years ago, is authorized to hold state prisoners, Guillot is in state custody.

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The parish jail also houses other inmates convicted of manslaughter, Maxwell said.

In 1991, Guillot was convicted for the 1990 killings of his ex-wife, Ann Guillot, and her boyfriend, David Bradford, in Ferriday.

In the past Sandifer and Johnny Bradford, David Bradford’s son, had taken exception to the fact that Guillot is allowed to perform mechanic work in a shop behind the jail.

All inmates can perform such jobs if they abide by regulations, and Guillot has done so, Maxwell said. He said the jail has been thoroughly checked and approved by the FBI and the Department of Corrections and that he has received no other complaints about Guillot’s status.

&uot;Pete Guillot has been incarcerated at the Concordia Parish Jail since he was sentenced,&uot; Maxwell said. &uot;He is doing the very same work he has done all these years. Why has this suddenly become an issue?&uot;

Neither Sandifer nor Bradford could be reached for comment Tuesday.

But in a Tuesday press release, Sandifer said coalition members will start a statewide petition drive and deliver signed petitions to Maxwell every month starting in August, asking that Guillot be returned to the Department of Corrections.

In the release, Sandifer questioned Maxwell’s motives for &uot;refusing previous requests … to return this double killer of Louisiana citizens to a State Department of Corrections Facility.&uot;

But Maxwell, who said he questions the &uot;authenticity&uot;&160;of the coalition, said he has never received any information from Sandifer.

Sandifer is also asking Maxwell to apologize publicly to Bradford for a June 5 incident in which Concordia deputies stopped Bradford’s vehicle and seized a camera and film.

Bradford had been taking pictures that showed Pete Guillot standing at the mechanic shop under a sign that read &uot;Pete’s Shop,&uot;&160;Sandifer said. The sign is no longer posted at the facility.

&uot;I have an obligation to … protect the prisoners who are in the care&uot; of the Sheriff’s Office and Concordia Parish Correctional Facility,&uot;&160;Maxwell said about the incident involving Bradford.

Although the film has since been thrown away, Bradford is free to pick up his camera any time he wants, Maxwell said.

As far as returning Guillot to the Department of Corrections and apologizing to Bradford are concerned, Maxwell said neither he nor the Department of Corrections would be dictated to by &uot;a right-wing, out-of-the-parish organization.&uot;

&uot;Everyone seems to have forgotten that all laws, regulations and policies are being followed,&uot;&160;Maxwell said.