A Mobile mother arrested in connection with the shooting at Davidson High School appeared in court this week, with bond set at just over $7,200 — and her attorney sharply criticizing how the arrest was carried out.
Lasandra Dortch faces charges of assault, hindering prosecution, and giving a false name to an officer. Police do not believe she fired any shots herself. Instead, prosecutors say she helped her son after he allegedly opened fire during a basketball game at Davidson High School, wounding two people.
Attorney Says He Was Misled by Police
Dortch’s lawyer, John White, said Mobile Police investigators came to his office on Friday and told him they did not have a warrant for his client’s arrest — that they only wanted to meet with her to get a photo of her son for a lineup. White says he relayed that to Dortch, and when she met with police she was wrestled to the ground and charged with assault.
“Proper procedure was not followed. Period,” White said. “I was misled by the Mobile Police Department and as a result … my client was misled by me.” He argued the encounter could have escalated into something far more dangerous.
A Mobile Police spokesman countered that investigators conducted an investigation and had probable cause to arrest her.
State: Son Taken to Mississippi
Prosecutors allege Dortch took her son to his father’s house in Mississippi and claimed he was ill in an effort to keep him away from law enforcement.
Mobile Police Chief Lawrence Battiste has said he wants parents to understand that his department will hold them responsible when they help their children evade justice after a crime.