BATON ROUGE — The 17-year-old accused in last week’s deadly shooting at the Mall of Louisiana had his first court appearance this afternoon for a bond hearing. Commissioner Kory Tauzin ordered Markel Lee held without bond, as is typical in first-degree murder cases. On his other charges, Lee has a combined bond of $1,350,000.
The shooting on April 23 left a 17-year-old high school senior from Lafayette dead. Martha Odom was on a senior skip day at the Mall of Louisiana when she was caught in the crossfire. Five others were injured, including Donnie Guillory, a Special Olympics athlete.
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Lee, 17, turned himself in to Baton Rouge Police on April 24. He is charged with first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder, and illegal use of a weapon.
District Attorney Hillar Moore requested no bond for Lee, per state law. A first-degree murder charge often results in a “no bond” order.
Police Chief TJ Morse said Lee has a juvenile criminal record.
Baton Rouge Police and other agencies are still requesting the public’s assistance in identifying a second person they say was involved in Thursday’s shooting. Police are asking anyone with information about the person pictured, anyone who witnessed the shooting, or anyone with video to contact Crime Stoppers.
Chief Morse initially announced that five people were taken into custody before 4 p.m. on April 23, though no charges were announced at the time. That group included an individual later detained in the Oak Hills subdivision in Watson, extending the investigation into Livingston Parish.
MORE: Special Olympics athlete identified as one of the victims shot at Mall of Louisiana
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All five were later released after questioning, but Morse said they were still considered persons of interest as of Friday, April 24.
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