A man facing charges in a murder case was sentenced Monday to five years in prison after pleading guilty to beating a bus driver in another incident.
Travis Layne Jr., who was indicted earlier this month in the August 2019 slaying of Garon Lewis, pleaded guilty in December to three charges related to a February 2021 beating of a school bus driver.
The victim in the beating case is an Iberia Parish School bus driver who was transporting Layne's child. Lewis, who was a 17-year-old high school senior when he died, was the son of Iberia Parish politician and current school board member Raymond "Shoe-Do" Lewis.
On Monday, Layne was sentenced for his guilty pleas to one count each of second-degree battery, aggravated obstruction of a highway and battery of a school teacher.
The court sentenced Layne to two years in prison on the second-degree battery charge. Layne got 12 years on the obstruction charge, but that was suspended. And, he was given five years on the battery of a schoolteacher charge, which is to be served at the same time as the second-degree battery charge.
After he is released from prison on these charges, Layne will serve three years of supervised release, during which time he is forbidden from having any contact with the victim, any Iberia Parish School Board property, and any Iberia Parish School Board bus. He also must pay $1,295 in restitution to the victim. If he violates his supervised release, he could be sent back to jail to serve the 12-year sentence which was suspended.
Layne's guilty plea was "open-ended," meaning the District Attorney's Office made no agreement with him as to sentencing. The court issued the sentence following a hearing, District Attorney Bo Duhe tells KATC.
Layne and the mother of the child involved, Neshana Collins, are accused in connection with a February 2021 incident that happened at the intersection of Yvonne and Zez streets. At the time, school officials told KATC that the driver of a bus was assaulted while on their route. The driver was treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
Collins was booked with Interference in the Operation; Terrorizing; Aggravated Obstruction of a Highway; Criminal Trespassing; Second Degree Battery; and Battery on a School Teacher. Her case is still pending, Duhe says.
Earlier this month, an Iberia Parish grand jury handed up indictments against Layne and Bryson JohnLewis in connection with the shooting death of Lewis. Both men were indicted on charges of Principal to Second-Degree Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Second-Degree Murder.
The investigation into that case is still continuing.
