Appealed from the Twenty-Sixth Judicial District Court for the Parish of Bossier, Louisiana. Trial Court No. 201176 & 201177. Honorable Michael Nerren, Judge.
AFFIRMED.
J. SCHUYLER MARVIN, District Attorney; ROBERT L. PITTARD, ROBERT R. SMITH, Assistant District Attorneys, Counsel for Appellant.
BRYCE J. DENNY, ANDREW B. FREYER, Counsel for Appellee, Accredited Surety and Casualty Company.
Before WILLIAMS, DREW and GARRETT, JJ.
OPINION
[49,780 La.App. 2 Cir. 1]
WILLIAMS, J.
The State of Louisiana appeals a judgment denying its exception of prescription
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and granting the motion to set aside the judgment of bond forfeiture filed by Accredited Surety and Casualty Company, the surety for the defendant, Anthony Lodrige. For the following reasons, we affirm.
FACTS
In August 2013, the defendant was arrested in Bossier Parish and charged with possession of a Schedule II Controlled Dangerous Substance, methamphetamine, driving under suspension and failure to stop at a red light. Accredited Surety and Casualty Company (" Accredited" ), through its representative, Eagle Bail Bond Specialists, posted three appearance bonds in the total amount of $5,600 for the release of defendant. On October 1, 2013, defendant failed to appear in court for a scheduled hearing and the bond was ordered forfeited. The district court rendered a judgment of bond forfeiture against the defendant and Accredited, as surety, in the amount of $5,600. On October 25, 2013, the clerk of court mailed notice of the judgment to Accredited and defendant.
On April 23, 2014, the defendant was arrested and booked into the jail in Natchitoches Parish. Accredited filed a motion to set aside the judgment of bond forfeiture on April 25, 2014. The state then filed an exception of prescription alleging that Accredited had failed to file its motion within the applicable statutory time period. After a hearing, the district court granted Accredited's motion to set aside the judgment of bond forfeiture and denied the exception of prescription. The state's motion for new trial was denied following a hearing. The district court rendered judgment denying the [49,780 La.App. 2 Cir. 2] state's exception of prescription and granting the surety's motion to set aside the judgment of bond forfeiture. The state appeals the judgment.
DISCUSSION
The state contends the district court erred in denying the exception of prescription. The state argues that the motion to set aside the judgment of bond forfeiture was not timely because it was filed more ...