Anthony Templet pleads no contest to negligent homicide in 2019 killing of father

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Anthony Templet pled no contest to negligent homicide for the death of his father, Burt Templet, in 2019.

In exchange, he will serve five years of supervised probation with credit for time served.

Templet, 17 at the time, shot his father twice in June of 2019 after an argument between the two over Anthony’s cell phone got physical. Burt was trying to go through Anthony’s phone to see if he had contact with Burt’s ex-wife, Susan Templet. Anthony said his father was drunk and tried to hit him but he was able to escape, running to his father’s room where he locked the door and got a gun.

Anthony described what happened in his 911 call shortly after the shooting.

“He tried to attack me,” Anthony said to the 911 operator. “Then, we got into a fist fight. Then, I ran in his room, closed the door, and got a gun. As I unlocked the door, he tried to {inaudible} and then I shot him.”

In the recording, Anthony said he tried to shoot his father in the head but did not know if he had been killed. He said he fired three shots and that he knew he hit Burt at least once because there was blood on the floor.

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Burt died several days later.

Anthony was initially charged with second-degree murder but that charge was later reduced to manslaughter. Templet’s family said the teen acted in self-defense and was subject to regular abuse for years by his father. The prosecutor confirmed those details on the record, saying Anthony had been isolated by his father. Burt also denied Anthony an education. Templet told the judge he has never had a formal education and could not say what the last grade was that he completed.

Court documents indicated Burt had an abusive past. Susan Templet filed for an order of protection in Livingston Parish against her ex-husband several months before the shooting. In the filing, she claimed he was physically abusive, detailing an incident where he knocked out one of her teeth.

Given the history of abuse, prosecutor Dana Cummings, assistant district attorney for East Baton Rouge Parish, said this was the best outcome.

“What would time in jail do for this young man who has never actually had a chance to learn or to have friends or to be in the world,” Cummings said. “What would that achieve? I just think it would keep him from ever being able to be productive.”

While maintaining Templet is innocent, Anthony’s attorney, Jarrett Ambeau, said this gives his client a new chance at life, one that is outside the prison his father created.

“When I saw this injustice, I said, ‘Absolutely, no way should this kid be in jail,” said Ambeau. “Well, that’s the outcome we have. It may not be the thing we have hoped but this is an imperfect system. We try to find the best possible justice and I think we got that today.”

Templet will serve five years’ supervised probation. As a condition, he must earn his GED, agree to counseling, and hold either a full-time job or be enrolled in school full-time. If he meets all requirements, he is eligible to have his record expunged.

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