Man sentenced to 30 years for 2010 shooting of Good Samaritan

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - District Court Judge Don Johnson sentenced Leslie Harris to 30 years in prison for an armed robbery that happened in November 2010.

Harris was with Jonathan Murray and Leroy Molden when they went on a crime spree that included multiple armed robberies. Murray was sentenced 35 years because he was the man who shot Good Samaritan Charlie Cangelosi. Cangelosi got involved when he saw the men pull out a gun on a pregnant woman. She was not harmed but Cangelosi was shot.

"This is the hardest part of my job," said Judge Johnson as he was announcing the sentence. Defense attorney Randal Toston did not dispute the judge's decision either. "It wasn't fair what happened to the victims," said Toston. "So there's a balance and I think the court, my client, the victims, did the best they could in a bad situation."

Prosecutor Will Morris also agreed with the sentencing. "All we do is make sure that defendants plead to the crimes to hold them accountable," says Morris. "35 years is a long time."

Both of the defendants were sentenced Monday. A third person in the group, Leroy Molden will be sentenced Tuesday. Charlie Candelosi was not in the court room Monday. Morris says he would call him Monday evening and tell him the sentences. Candelosi has since recovered from his injuries.

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