(By Misty Castile/The Center Square) – Caddo Parish District Attorney James Stewart addressed his office’s handling of Tre’Veon Jackson’s prosecution Friday after district attorney candidate Alan Seabaugh questioned trial delays and why Jackson remained in a parish jail before his Sept. 14 escape.

Jackson was captured Tuesday night in Marshall, Texas, eight days after escaping a Caddo Parish sheriff’s deputy’s custody following a hospital visit in Shreveport.

In a Facebook post Wednesday, Seabaugh alleged Jackson had been awaiting trial on two second-degree murder charges since his arrest in September 2021. He blamed Stewart for the delay.

“That’s five years without a trial,” Seabaugh wrote. “That is inexcusable in any context.”

He also alleged Jackson was convicted of armed robbery more than a year ago and should have been transferred from Caddo Correctional Center to a Louisiana Department of Corrections facility.

“This entire episode is as inexcusable as it was completely predictable and avoidable!” Seabaugh wrote.

In his response to The Center Square, Stewart confirmed the armed robbery conviction but said sentencing remains pending. Prosecutors have filed a habitual offender bill, and Jackson faces a potential sentence of 33 to 198 years at hard labor without the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence, Stewart said.

“The Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office is currently in the process of scheduling his sentencing on that charge,” he said.

Stewart also challenged Seabaugh’s qualifications to assess the prosecution, describing him as an insurance defense attorney whose practice focuses on representing insurance interests.

“He does not have experience prosecuting criminal cases or handling homicide prosecutions,” Stewart said. “As a result, his comments demonstrate a lack of understanding of the complexities involved in the criminal justice process.”

Stewart added that Seabaugh “has never prosecuted a traffic ticket, much less handled the complexities of a murder prosecution involving multiple defendants, extensive evidence, and defendants who may change attorneys during the course of a case.”

Stewart’s response did not provide Jackson’s conviction date, explain the sentencing delay or address who determined his placement at the parish jail. It also did not identify a trial date for the murder case or explain the circumstances affecting its timeline.

Stewart said Caddo Parish has experienced more than 245 homicides since 2022, including 93 in 2023. More than 65% of those cases have been resolved, he said, though he did not define “resolved.”

Four criminal district court judges handle homicide prosecutions along with other serious felony cases, according to Stewart.

“Every criminal case is different, and homicide prosecutions can be particularly complex,” he said.

He cited changes in legal representation, extensive discovery, forensic evidence and witness issues as factors that can affect cases, without specifying which applied to Jackson’s prosecution.

Stewart also said ethical and legal standards limit what his office can publicly disclose about individual cases.

“The fact that specific details cannot be publicly disclosed should not be mistaken for inaction,” he said.