A 16th Judicial District Court judge set a trial date for the 11-year-old girl accused of fatally shooting a New Iberia man back in November.
Judge Roger Hamilton on Tuesday affirmed the first-degree murder charge brought against the juvenile, KLFY reported, and a trial date is set for March 7 at 1 p.m.
The Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office arrested and charged the 11-year-old in late November in connection to the Nov. 14 killing of Kameron Bedsole, 36. The girl was discovered in Lafourche Parish.
A little over a week later, the deputies arrested a 15-year-old boy and the mother of both children, Sabrina Washington, 40. The two were discovered in Houston, Texas by the Houston Police Department.
Advocacy groups Village 337 and Evolve Louisiana stood outside the Iberia Parish Courthouse that Tuesday.
The groups argued for the innocence and fair treatment of the 11-year-old, said Laramie Griffin of Evolve Louisiana. He believes the girl to be innocent and believes the sheriff's office used a Black family as a scapegoat for the killing of a White man.
"What we've heard from family members, this young lady could not have done such atrocities to anyone," Griffin said, "this is the corruption that comes with living in poor areas in Louisiana."
Griffin said the Iberia Parish district attorney and the sheriff's office are not being transparent enough on this case and have proven to be unresponsive to questions in the past.
In 2020, the body of Quawan Charles, a 15-year-old Black male, was found in a sugar cane field in Iberia Parish. Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office told the Charles family that he died of drowning. Photos instead revealed the disfigured face of Charles and it was ruled a homicide. Janet Irvin was arrested in connection to the homicide but not charged with his murder. Griffin said at that time there was no transparency from the sheriff's office.
His killer has yet to be found.
"No transparency, there were no meetings, no matter how much protest and phone calls," Griffin said, "They held no one accountable, in this case, they're holding everyone accountable and the reason is because they are Black and because it's a White family."
Attorneys Ron Haley, who was the attorney for Charles, and Ryan Beaulieu are representing the 11-year-old. Both were placed under gag order prohibiting them from speaking to media regarding the case, Haley said Dec. 8.
Haley told KLFY, prior to the gag order, that authorities were using the girl as a "pawn" to make the actual shooter turn themselves in. He said he believed the girl to be innocent and that evidence would lead to her acquittal.
The family lived next door to Bedsole, Haley said. He questioned whether Bedsole was with the children unsupervised. He said the girl was not near Bedsole's residence at the time of the shooting.
The court would not confirm if a gag order was put in place and does not provide information regarding juvenile cases, Wess Robinson, Chief Deputy of Iberia Parish Clerk of Court, said.
At the very least, Griffin believes that the girl should be let out of detention and released to her father. Though he understands with a first-degree murder charge, this is likely not possible. He said he is worried about her mental health and the possibility of lifelong trauma.
"It was really heartwarming to see (her father) embrace her after a month and a half of only seeing her in video," Griffin.
Griffin said the father is declining to comment at the moment.
The 11-year-old has been detained for over a month, according to Evolve Louisiana. She was being held at the Lafayette Juvenile Detention Center at the time of her arrest.
Washington is still in Iberia Parish Jail. It's unknown if the 15-year-old is still in custody but was last reported at the Jackson Parish Juvenile Detention Center.
Griffin said justice can exist both for the young girl and for the family of Bedsole.
"The Louisiana juvenile justice system is very broken and you do not want someone put into a broken system," Griffin said, "this is about finding out the truth. To some people, the truth looks like anyone they want to arrest."
Stephen Marcantel writes for The Acadiana Advocate as a Report for America corps member. Email him at stephen.marcantel@theadvocate.com.
