Lancaster: Woman pleads guilty in ‘heinous’ case

A Franklin Parish woman could spend 28 years in jail after pleading guilty to what 5th Judicial District Attorney Mack Lancaster called a “heinous crime.”

LaSasha Allen, 24, entered a guilty plea Thursday for second-degree cruelty to a juvenile. The June incident involved her 20-month-old daughter.

According to the Franklin Parish Sheriff’s Office, Allen placed her daughter in an unrestrained position in a vehicle and opened up the door while rounding a curve. The child fell from the vehicle and sustained multiple injuries including a broken arm, skull fracture and abrasions to her body.

Lancaster said he is pleased to get the guilty plea. “Fortunately the injuries to this child were not life threatening as we would have been dealing with a murder charge,” he said. “I do not understand how any mother could do this to her child.”

Lancaster also complimented the Franklin Parish Sheriff’s Office for its quick action and investigation.

“This is a very serious and disturbing case and I am thankful that the child was not killed or more seriously injured and now has been placed in a much safer place,” Sheriff Kevin Cobb said.

Under the terms of the plea agreement there will be a pre-sentencing investigation before the March 18 sentencing. Allen stands to serve up to 28 years in prison.

Follow Barbara Leader on Twitter @barbaraleader1.