Judge again rules teen accused of deadly Arlington Lamar High School shooting will remain in custody

A judge said the teenager charged with killing a fellow student outside Arlington Lamar High School will remain in custody.

That was announced at a third detention hearing Friday morning. 

The 15-year-old is charged with capital murder and aggravated assault.

Police said he shot and killed Jashawn Poirier before school started on March 20.

A 15-year-old girl was sitting on a bench when she was hit in the face by shrapnel.

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Judge decides teen accused of deadly Arlington Lamar High School shooting will remain in custody

A 15-year-old who police said killed a fellow student and shot another outside Arlington Lamar High School last month will remain in juvenile detention.

FOX 4 has learned his father is in federal custody because he is a convicted felon who had guns in his home.

Since the last hearing, there's been a couple of things happen that don't bode well for the boy accused of capital murder. 

Juvenile Probation Officer Bob Lewis told the court that the boy would not come out of his room for breakfast one day and gym class another.

"He's not violating any rules that’s causing him to be dangerous or threatening or create chaos in the detention center, right?" said Lisa Herrick, the 15-year-old’s attorney. "But any rule, the judge expects them to be followed."

They may be minor, but they’re major to Judge Alex Kim.

"My concern in your case is whether you can follow instructions," he said. "Because if what the police are saying about you is true at Lamar High School on that day, then that tells me that there's a whole lot of instructions or rules that you were breaking on that day." 

Police call what the 15-year-old did that day capital murder because the shootings happened along with another felony terroristic threat.

A great aunt has been present for each court appearance.

"She is extremely supportive. She wants to do whatever she can to support him and to continue to provide an environment where he can do the best he can," Herrick said.

The boy’s mother in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has not been there.

The boy’s father is in federal custody, charged with being a felon in possession of a weapon. Court records show he had three illegally obtained guns in his home when police searched a search warrant the day of the shooting. It was illegal because he has two felony convictions in Louisiana.

Background checks blocked the father’s attempts to buy guns from a dealer in 2014 and 2020.

A shotgun was used in the school shooting. That gun was purchased by a relative of the boy’s father, but it’s unclear how the boy got his hands on it. For now, he stays in detention.   

"The judge wants to know that if the child is released from detention, basically that they'll have the same level of supervision at home — or as close to it — as they do have here," Herrick said.

Because of the serious nature of these crimes, Judge Kim says he needs to see a pattern of perfect behavior and the ability to follow every rule. The next hearing is in ten days.

ArlingtonCrime and Public Safety