Man who helped killer of Mandeville-area homemaker Samantha Jaume is given 40-year prison sentence

Zlatico "Zack'' BrujicA Bush man was sentenced to 40 years in prison Tuesday for helping the man who shot and killed Mandeville-area homemaker Samantha Jaume in front of her children in 2001.

But Zlatico "Zack" Brujic, 33, could face up to life in prison if prosecutors are successful in having him declared a habitual offender during a hearing scheduled for Feb. 5. The St. Tammany Parish District Attorney's Office said Brujic has prior felony convictions for drugs, robbery and possession of stolen things, all in Jefferson Parish.


Brujic was sentenced by state Judge Raymond Childress to 40 years for obstruction of justice.

He was found guilty last month of helping Dominic Robinson escape the area and cover up evidence after Robinson shot Jaume at her home in Woodridge subdivision near Mandeville.

Robinson followed Jaume, 25, and her four children from the Wal-Mart Supercenter south of Covington and shot her in the head during a botched car-jacking. He then fled in to nearby woods and called his friend Brujic for help. ¶

Robinson, of Waggaman, was convicted of first-degree murder in August and is awaiting sentencing. Because of Gustav, the sentencing phase of his trial to determine if he should receive the death penalty has been postponed.

Robinson already is serving a life sentence for kidnapping and wounding a Houma man during a carjacking a month after Jaume was slain.