Attempted murder suspect out on bond, arrested for more alleged crimes
BATON ROUGE- A man accused of attempted murder and with a history of not showing up for court, being released for paperwork errors, and consistently making bond was arrested for additional crimes the victim's family learned this week.
Henry Claiborne is accused of maiming Tavonte Perkins in a shooting in 2018. The shooting left Perkins paralyzed from the chest down. Claiborne skipped out of a November 2019 court date, and an arrest warrant was issued. The WBRZ Investigative Unit profiled this story in January of 2019 and Claiborne was taken into custody.
However, a paperwork mix-up allowed him to be mistakenly released days later. A hold was placed on Claiborne until that was lifted in October of 2019 and Claiborne posted bond again. In March of 2020, Claiborne was picked back up and charged with possession of a stolen firearm, possession of marijuana, obstruction of justice and resisting an officer.
Claiborne is still awaiting trial for the shooting of Perkins.
"The problem is the system," said Stephanie Bailey, Tavonte Perkins' grandmother. "I don't know what they do when they decide who they are going to let out, and it should be a structured system."
Perkins said his whole life came crashing down after the shooting. He was once a star high school football player until he was paralyzed. He is now confined to a wheelchair.
Bailey said the situation that continues to allow her grandson's alleged shooter to keep getting out has her troubled.
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"I would definitely like someone to answer that question for me. Why?" Bailey said. "It's obvious that he continues to commit crimes. Why do you continue to let him out?"
Last month, another judge lifted the hold on Claiborne. His new bond is around $200,000. He remains locked up in the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.