Trial date set for man accused in boy’s death
Home invasion in 2017 results in shooting of 10-year-old
A trial date of July 6, 2020, was set Thursday for a man charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of a 10-year-old boy in 2017.
Felton Felmon Thompson, 52, is accused in the death of Jaylyn Citizen, who was killed during a home invasion and attempted robbery Sept. 24, 2017, on Shattuck Street.
Judge Clayton Davis set the trial date for Thompson, who has been in the Calcasieu Correctional Center since being arrested in 2017.
A hearing involving several motions was expected to be held in the case Thursday, but Davis determined a full hearing wasn’t necessary since most of those matters had previously been heard.
Thompson was in state district court as were prosecutors, the defense and many of Jaylyn’s family and friends.
Dwight M. Doskey, an attorney with the Capital Defense Project of Southeast Louisiana, has been representing Thompson since 2018.
Doskey told Davis on Thursday one matter that still needed to be resolved was a prior motion concerning a crime scene preservation order. Davis said he earlier gave Doskey 90 days to attend to that matter.
The defense attorney told the judge there was an issue with an expert who wasn’t available so Davis gave him an additional 30 days to address it.
At a hearing last year in state district court, family members of Jaylyn, wearing T-shirts that displayed photos of him on the front, filled a row in the courtroom, and cried softly as Thompson was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to the charge of first-degree murder.
Prosecutor Loren Lampert told Davis at that hearing the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office planned to seek the death penalty.
Doskey told the court a few months ago he plans to retire soon from the Capital Defense Project but not his private practice. Setting the trial for a year from now will allow time for a new attorney to be appointed and to become familiar with the case before trial.
Thompson was paroled early from Angola State Penitentiary after serving 24 years of a 99-year prison sentence for armed robbery and other crimes and at the time of his arrest authorities said he was from the Kenner area and they did not know why he was in Lake Charles.
Former Lake Charles Police Chief Don Dixon called Thompson “a career criminal” after he was arrested.
FILE PHOTO: Felton Thompson was placed under arrest and booked into the Orleans Parish Jail in 2017. He was transported back to the Calcasieu Parish Correctional Center.
Felton Thompson, 50, was arrested in the shooting death of Jaylyn Citizen and the wounding of a 17-year-old boy,