By
Mykal Vincent | December 18, 2019 at 10:43 AM CST - Updated December 18 at 7:02 PM
“BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A judge reduced bond by half for a teen accused of
shooting and killing his father.
Anthony Templet, who was 17-year-old at the time of the shooting, was in court Wednesday, Dec. 18. Family members sought to have his bond reduced from $100,000 with the hope of getting him out of jail so he could start counseling.
More: Case delayed for teenage boy accused of shooting, killing his allegedly abusive father
Judge Tarvald Smith agreed to the deal that was made between the prosecution and the defense. Templet’s bond was reduced to $50,000. Once released, he would be required to remain under supervision, have GPS tracking, and submit to drug testing. He will live with his stepmother and will have constant mental health evaluations to help him prepare for trial.
Smith said after reviewing a mental health evaluation prior to the hearing, he does not believe Templet is a threat to others.
Judge Smith praised both the prosecution and the defense for coming to this agreement. Smith said what he witnessed in his chambers is what cases like these need.
Adding that this criminal justice reform should be modeled after how the state and Templet’s legal team have worked together in this case in dealing with mental health issues.
[SBM]
Templet is nonverbal and the family hopes counseling will help him be able to defend himself in court.
[SBM]”
Bond reduced for teen accused of killing alleged kidnapper father
BY JOE GYAN JR. | Staff writer
Dec 18, 2019 - 4:25 pm
“A Baton Rouge teenager accused of fatally shooting his father during a June argument in their Shenandoah home had his $100,000 bond cut in half Wednesday by a state judge who said the young man is in need of supervision, evaluation and treatment.
[SBM]
Jarrett Ambeau, one of [the defense] attorneys, argued during Wednesday’s bond reduction hearing that Anthony Templet suffered ‘long-term systemic abuse … at the hands of his father.’ Ambeau said Templet shot his father to avoid ‘serious bodily harm.’
Prosecutor Dana Cummings acknowledged to District Judge Tarvald Smith that there are unsubstantiated reports of abuse but said she strongly disagreed with Ambeau’s self-defense argument.
Franz Borghardt, who also represents Templet, told the judge that Templet has employment waiting for him at a local garden nursery once his family posts his $50,000 bond and he is released from East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.
Smith, acting on the evaluation of a forensic psychologist who determined Templet doesn’t pose a risk to society, said he reluctantly agreed to a bond reduction despite the serious nature of the charge and the allegations.
‘This young man needs supervision, evaluation and treatment in order to assist himself in his own defense,’ the judge said.
Templet, who will live with his stepmother once released from jail, must abide by a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and submit to a mental health evaluation, drug testing and GPS monitoring, Smith ordered.
‘These requirements are onerous. I expect you to abide by them,’ he told Templet.
The judge wants to review Templet’s progress every 30 days. His next court date is Jan. 16.
Templet’s stepmother, brother and other family members were in the courtroom Wednesday, as was a representative of the garden nursery.
‘Mr. Templet, the road is long. It looks like you have a good support group here,’ Smith said.
Templet, who pleaded not guilty in August, is accused of retrieving two handguns from his father's bedroom and firing multiple shots during an argument. He confessed to the shooting in an interview with detectives but claimed his father was the aggressor.
An arrest report states that Anthony Templet shot his father in the face after the two started arguing.
‘His father stumbled backwards towards the bathroom, and asked Anthony to stop,’ deputies wrote in the report. ‘Anthony stated that he did not comply with his father's plea’ and instead fired two more rounds that ‘caused his father to fall onto the bathroom floor.’
Templet called 911 after the shooting and reported he had shot and killed his father. The teen later told detectives who questioned him that his father didn't threaten him and was unarmed, according to police reports about the shooting. He also described their relationship as dysfunctional.
Ambeau has said previously that Burt Templet had for years isolated his son from other family members, forbade him to attend school and often physically abused him.
Court records show that Burt Templet's wife had recently accused him of physical abuse. She filed a temporary restraining order against him in November 2018 after a particularly violent episode in which her lip was busted open and her teeth damaged. She claimed he punched her in the face, then threatened to kill her during an argument, according to the request for a protective order. That case was dropped months later.”
Baton Rouge teen accused in father's slaying has bond cut in half
I agree with the judge here.
