LIVINGSTON — Jason Chaisson, the man operating a 25-foot Sea Fox vessel that collided with a party pontoon barge and killed two people last July, was sentenced Friday in a Livingston Parish courtroom.
Chaisson pleaded no contest on July 7 to reduced charges, including two counts of negligent homicide and five counts of negligent injuring. A judge sentenced him to five years for each negligent homicide charge, to run consecutively, with all but one year suspended on each. That means he will serve two years in the custody of the Department of Corrections. He was also sentenced to six months for each negligent injuring charge, which will run concurrently with the DOC sentence.
Chaisson was remanded into the custody of the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office immediately following the hearing and did not leave the courthouse.
The crash claimed the lives of Thuy Gustin and Chase Sharkey, the pontoon’s operator.
Twelve people, including family members and survivors of the crash, gave emotional victim impact statements during the sentencing Friday. Chaisson declined to speak, opting to remain silent through his attorney.
Susan Sharkey, Chase’s mother, told the court her son was her youngest. She described the moment she waited on the pier, hoping he’d walk out with the warden. “That didn’t happen. He was in the water 8.5 hours before he was found,” she said.
“My heart was just ripped open that night. I tried therapy, but that didn’t work,” the mother added, as she held herself together through the tears before a packed courtroom.
She also shared what Chase’s 9-year-old son recently asked for on his birthday: “I want my dad.”
“It’s been a year, and I still can’t put into words what this has done to me or our four children,” Starkey’s wife, Shelly, said in court. “I wish Chase would come in my dreams — I wish he would — because it’s the only way I can see him. I didn’t know you before the accident. This wasn’t your first boat accident. It wasn’t your first DUI. Chase knew as soon as your boat came into vision that you were trouble.”
Thuy Gustin’s sister, Xena, addressed the court next. “Thuy wasn’t just my sister. She was my best friend.” She added she did not believe charges should have been dropped because she believes this is permission to do this all over again.
She looked directly at Chaisson and said, “F*** you for letting people think my sister was drugged.” She added that Thuy’s toxicology report came back clean, despite Chaisson allegedly telling others she was “high and on mushrooms.”
Xena also described the chaos after the crash, alleging that while people from both boats were searching for the missing victims, Chaisson threatened one of the men from the other boat: “You better get the f*** back on your boat if you know what’s best for you.”
Thuy’s mother also spoke through tears.
“He’s taken everything from me. We don’t know how to act. I don’t sleep. My grandkids don’t have a mother anymore. You’re never supposed to bury your child first,” she said. She then looked at Jason and said, “You don’t even look at anyone — you can’t — because you are guilty.”
Thuy’s 12-year-old daughter submitted a written statement: “My mom was our whole world. She was the kind of mom everyone wanted. Now, she’s gone.”
Jillian Bernard, a longtime friend of Thuy, was also on Chaisson’s boat that night. She said they had been participating in a benefit poker run most of the day and were trying to return to camp. When Uber wasn’t available, she said she saw Chaisson making trips and asked him for a ride.
Bernard suffered devastating injuries in the crash, including a broken femur, crushed kneecap, and a hip broken in three places. She has had five surgeries and will require a leg amputation in the coming months.
“This is worse than your worst nightmare. That night is never-ending,” she said. Then, she turned to the judge and said, “I’m a misdemeanor. Thuy’s life is worth more than five years in jail.”
Bernard’s boyfriend, Hunter Caballero, was also on the boat and addressed the court.
“For one year, I’ve heard the crying and screaming of my girlfriend. After about six months, I was able to go back to work, but didn’t know when I came home every night if she (Jillian) would be alive.”
Caballero offered apologies to both the Sharkey and Gustin families. He said that just before the crash, Thuy turned to him and said, “I just want to tell my little girl I love her.”
The statement brought many in the standing room only courtroom to tears.
Caballero also suffered internal bleeding and spent 11 days in the ICU. He said their combined medical bills now total over $1 million, and he is working alone because Bernard is no longer able to.
Both the Sharkey and Gustin families told UWK they were outraged by Livingston Parish Judge Charlotte Foster’s decision to sentence Chaisson to just two years behind bars.
Chaisson was arrested by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents in late August and originally charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, first-degree vehicular negligent injury, second-offense operating a vessel while impaired, and careless operation of a vessel.
He initially pleaded not guilty in November.
A previous arrest for driving while intoxicated
UWK searched Jason Chaisson’s criminal history in Livingston Parish and discovered a previous DWI arrest from April 30, 2023. During that incident, Chaisson was nearly twice the legal limit when he was arrested for his first-offense DWI.
Chaisson was arrested and charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and improper lane usage after a traffic stop on Hwy. 43 in Springfield. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was sentenced to six months in parish prison running concurrently with his sentence for the crash on the Tickfaw River.
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