Plaquemines Parish Judge Michael Clement granted a motion in late October moving the venue of a well-known Plaquemines Parish court case to St. Charles Parish, a case involving an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) collision with a Plaquemines Parish police officer.
The motion was made by attorney Ryan Thompson, who represents defendant in the case Reginald Hamilton. Both Hamilton and co-defendant Kody Blanchard will now face a panel of jurors selected from St. Charles Parish instead of from Plaquemines Parish. Judge Clement will continue to preside over the case, and Plaquemines Parish District Attorney Charles Ballay will lead the prosecution as before.
Clement, in his ruling, cited the “multitude of fundraising events to support the injured deputy,” along with the “tight-knit nature of the community” as his primary reasons for changing the venue to St. Charles Parish.
“This Court does not find it necessary to enumerate the well-documented list of individuals and businesses who came forward to support the deputy and his family,” Clement wrote in his recent ruling.
According to the Plaquemines Parish District Attorney’s office, the court case stems from an incident that took place during the early morning hours of May 31 last year. Defendants Hamilton and Blanchard were being pursued by Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office (PPSO) deputies while driving ATVs on Highway 406 in Belle Chasse.
In his attempt to stop the fleeing defendant, PPSO Lt. Edmund Fisher got out of his police cruiser and was struck by Hamilton’s ATV near the Woodland Highway Bridge, incurring serious bodily injuries. A PPSO dash cam video was later released to the public showing snippets of the chase leading up to the two men’s injuries.
Fisher was transported to a local hospital in serious condition following the incident, while Hamilton initially suffered a serious head injury. The deputy’s leg was reported to have been mangled and was later amputated.
Thompson, who has maintained his client’s innocence, told local news outlets recently he expects his client Reginald Hamilton’s trial to be held sometime in 2024. Hamilton’s family has publicly stated Hamilton was targeted by PPSO deputies because of his race. The pair were headed home from a fishing trip early that morning, family members said, when PPSO deputies attempted to stop them.
“The only thing he’s guilty of is driving an ATV while Black in Plaquemines Parish,” family spokesperson Ashonta Wyatt told media outlets in August of last year. “I believe if Reginald Hamilton was an 18-year-old white kid, we wouldn’t be standing here. They had no intentions of allowing him to leave that parish alive.”
Hamilton, who was 18 at the time of the chase, was initially charged with second-degree attempted murder. Questions raised by dash cam video evidence eventually led to a grand jury indictment with downgraded charges of aggravated second-degree battery.
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