Cottages shooting suspect held without bond after re-arrested
BATON ROUGE- Ernest Felton, arrested in connection with a shooting that left two Southern students dead, was arrested a second time Thursday afternoon for trying to leave the area and is currently being held without bond.
Judge Beau Higginbotham ordered Felton to be held without bond on Friday.
Southern University's Registrar's Office has confirmed that Felton was a part-time student.
Felton was arrested for leaving the jurisdiction while on bond without court permission, according to court documents. A source told the WBRZ Investigative Unit Felton traveled to Dallas, Texas, between the time he bonded out of jail Tuesday night and Thursday. Being in Texas was a violation of his bond conditions; which forbid him from leaving the Baton Rouge-area without court permission.
Felton posted a $90,000 bond Tuesday night. He used a bail bondsman to secure 12% of the total bond amount to be released.
Felton is the only person charged in the shooting that killed two Southern University students Sunday. A third person was shot and injured at the Cottages on Ben Hur. Police believe Felton and the surviving shooting victim, Brandon Henderson, were exchanging gunfire when Lashuntae Benton and Annette January were hit in crossfire.
Felton is only charged with shooting Henderson. Detectives are awaiting ballistics tests to determine whose bullets struck and killed Benton and January, a member of the Southern University track and field team.
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Police said Felton turned himself in to the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office Warrant Division Thursday afternoon.