Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre
In today’s Sound Off Louisiana feature, we’re going to provide a highly-focused internal discussion of the prosecutorial efforts Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre and DA Ricky Babin regarding an allegation made by Kelsey Delatte that Councilman Dempsey Lambert’s son raped her on October 2, 2021. Let us begin by providing a video interview with Ascension Parish Sheriff candidate C. J. Matthews regarding the contents of the recorded conversation. Here’s that video:
October 4, 2023: Matthews discusses and analyzes contents of 81-minute recorded conversation between Sheriff Webre, DA Babin, Kelsey Delatte, Beau Delatte, and Tara Whiteside.
And here is the actual recording which Matthews dissects in the above video:
Recorded meeting between Webre, Babin Kelsey Delatte, Beau Delatte, and Tara Whiteside on or about June 23, 2022.
We strongly encourage listening to the entirety of the above audio file because it provides an extremely rare opportunity to listen in on discussions of a potential prosecution of an alleged perpetrator of rape with the added mix that the alleged perpetrator happening to be a sitting Parish Councilman’s son. At this time, we’ll highlight a few points we found interesting on the audio file above, to wit:
28:34 – DA Babin says he called “a friend” at the AG’s Office to ask if, “they would take a look at this.”
34:30 – Webre suggests holding a “deep breath” to see if AG Jeff Landry will look at the case then explodes in anger and goes on a two-minute tirade upon Kelsey Delatte asking how the case will be presented to Landry.
41:08 – Despite DA Babin saying he’d seek Landry’s help previously, he says, “What I got now is crap!”
46:14 – DA Babin inquires, “Who owns Turner? Bert Turner?” He then indicates Landry will do a favor for Bert Turner, and he then says, “I’m going to go to Bert Turner!” That may be challenging given that Turner died a little over 15 years ago!
47:00 – DA Babin begins explaining why he can’t divulge the contents of the Arrest Warrant Affidavit which Judge Cody Martin allegedly declined to sign. Babin says that he’ll provide the lawyer with something and, “if it gets stuck in there, it gets stuck….I’ve got to cover my ass.”
49:30 – DA Babin asks, “Are we going down that road (to civil litigation)?” to which Beau Delatte responds, “We’re going down that road.” We’ll have more on that in segment three of this series.
50:48 – Whiteside wants explanation for why everyone says there’s PC (probable cause) and yet no indictment or arrest.
52:28 – DA Babin says he “honestly thought” the, “Grand Jury would find PC. Everybody in my office thought they would find PC.”
53:00 – DA Babin indicates he’s had Grand Juries, “find true bills when I was begging them not to praying they wouldn’t.” What the hell!? His lame explanation was illogical to us! If you have doubts that you’re prosecuting the wrong guy due to mistaken identity (twin brother), cease pursuit by the Grand Jury until you get that cleared up! Good God!!
53:48 – DA Babin indicates that, on the matter above, he was “stuck with” the fact the Grand Jury had returned a true bill indictment when he admits it may have been the twin brother who committed the crime! “Stuck with!!” Geez!! He’s admitting he may be pursuing a conviction of an innocent man while the actual perpetrator continues to run around free!
54:30 – Sheriff Webre begins making extensive arguments that Kelsey Delatte consented to the sexual encounter.
55:58 – DA Babin declares, “PC (probable cause) went nowhere.”
57:20 – Sheriff Webre begins explaining how, “me and Ricky (Babin),” observed Delatte to perform well in the immediate aftermath of the DWI pullover and observe that she’s not, “sloppy drunk,” and, soon thereafter, FALSELY states that, “You had three drugs in your system!” DA Babin had to work hard to try and reel in those words by Webre!
1:03:00 – DA Babin encourages press coverage as a means to, “get them to start talking.”
1:05:10 – DA Babin laments bad press his office obtains for dismissing rape case when victim refuses to show up in court, subpoena notwithstanding. He says, “That’s the shit the media don’t put out there.” We just put it out there for you, DA Babin!
1:06:31 – DA Babin reiterates that, “I thought we had PC (probable cause). My Assistant DA thought there was PC, but the Grand Jury don’t like it!”
1:08:38 – Sheriff Webre says, “All the females that I’ve had conversations with about this thing………..’Get the f— off me you stupid son bitch’……Almost to the person, and you can guarantee that’s what both Grand Juries thought!”
1:11:27 – After Delatte explains precisely why she reacted the way she did, Webre says, “I’m going to continue to play Devil’s advocate.” [1:12:17 mark].
1:15:50 – DA Babin admits that the last couple of cases he sent to Landry, that Landry said, “Go pound sand, but they weren’t good cases.” How is THIS one good when Babin previously said, “I don’t have crap?”
1:19:08 – Webre indicates that, despite Babin’s pessimism on AG Jeff Landry looking at the case, Webre indicates, “He’ll say ‘yes.'”
Like we said, it’s a rare opportunity to take a look under the hood and see how all these negotiations play out, especially when it involves a politically-connected defendant.
In segment three of this series, we’ll examine yet more tape-recorded conversations that we believe our subscribers and casual site visitors will find most intriguing.
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