Bond reduced for teen accused of killing alleged kidnapper father

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.

Jarrett Ambeau and fellow Baton Rouge attorney Franz Borghardt are working Templet’s case free of charge along with the help of the East Baton Rouge Public Defender’s Office.

Templet was allegedly kidnapped by his father, Burt Templet, in 2008 when he was just 5 years old and was kept in seclusion. Some family members only found out about the boy’s location after the shooting happened in June of 2019. Templet is nonverbal and the family hopes counseling will help him be able to defend himself in court.

Investigators say Templet testified he and his father got into a fight while his father was drunk and aggressive. Anthony hid behind a bedroom door armed with two guns to protect himself and eventually shot his father, deputies say.

Templet has pleaded not guilty to the crime.

We will be live at 5 p.m. with more information on this breaking news story.

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