A Donaldsonville man convicted five years ago of a brazen murder that authorities described as a suspected "hit" has recently been released from prison — even though he should be serving a life sentence.
Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said his deputies in Donaldsonville heard that Michael "Ma-Man" LeBlanc, 41, was recently released from state prison. He then called Department of Corrections officials, who confirmed it.
LeBlanc was convicted of second-degree murder, which brings a mandatory life sentence in Louisiana.
Webre said local law enforcement officials don't know where LeBlanc is or how he came to be released from a parish prison in north Louisiana.
"I can't tell you why yet. I got (the District Attorney's Office) looking into and my deputies are looking into it, and the judge is saying he needs to be back in front of him," Webre said mid-day Tuesday.
Ascension prosecutors had accused LeBlanc of walking up to and shooting 37-year-old Adoriji “Teenie Weenie” Wilson in June 2014. Wilson was on the front porch of a home in the "back of town" area in Donaldsonville with friends.
LeBlanc came up wearing a hooded, fluorescent green rain coat at the time of the shooting.
Sheriff's officials at the time blamed the shooting on retaliation in the local drug trade. Then-Sheriff Jeff Wiley flatly called it a suspected hit.
The slaying along with others at the time sparked public concerns and community meetings about the violence in the small Mississippi River city in Ascension Parish.
In September 2017, LeBlanc was convicted of second-degree murder. Court minutes and papers, however, show that, despite the conviction, which survived an initial post-trial challenges, he still hasn't been sentenced as of Tuesday.
His case hit a number of continuances, delays from COVID-19 and the death of his original defense attorney.
One of his current attorney declined to comment Tuesday, saying they were still reviewing his trial transcripts and other court papers. LeBlanc still has his post-conviction appeal effort pending.
At the time of LeBlanc's conviction, he had at least four other felony convictions and a lengthy criminal history going back to the late 1990s, court papers show.
In December 2015, nearly two years before the murder conviction, LeBlanc was convicted of being a felon in possession of firearm from a prior incident and later received an 18-year prison sentence.
Family members of Wilson, LeBlanc's shooting victim, said Tuesday that they learned last week from the Madison Parish jail that he had been released after he finished his gun possession sentence. The family members, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, say they are now fearful for their safety with LeBlanc on the loose.
A spokesman for District Attorney Ricky Babin's office, which prosecuted LeBlanc in 2017, did not return an email for comment Tuesday.
A spokesman for the state Department of Corrections said officials were looking into the reasons for LeBlanc's release.