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Accused murderer skipped town after BR judge let him off ankle monitor, caught in another parish
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BATON ROUGE - An accused murderer who requested to have his ankle monitor removed due to leg irritation was rearrested Thursday night in the Lafayette area for absconding bond supervision.
Kevin Dukes is accused of murdering Julius Thomas in 2018. He was arrested within hours of the murder.
In 2021, Dukes and his lawyers made a request to have the monitor removed. It was granted by Judge Tarvald Smith, and Dukes was required to be monitored through his cell phone. Smith declined to comment on this story two years ago.
Fast-forward two years, and Thomas' family is livid.
"He decided that he would take him off his ankle monitor because it was getting expensive, and he said he had a health issue which was diabetes causing spots on his leg," said Joycelyn Davis, Thomas' sister.
Julius Thomas was shot to death and dumped at the corner of Old Hammond Highway and S Flannery Road in December 2018. One day after his death, authorities arrested Dukes. He's being charged with second-degree murder and is awaiting trial.
"It's heart-wrenching, and the DA opposed this," Davis said. "She said it was a major murder case, do not take it off. The judge decided he would take it off anyway."
Dukes' latest arrest warrant has the word "RUSH" at the top of it. The document says "absconding bond supervision." Sources said he did not have his phone monitor working.
"It shattered me and my mom," Davis said. "He's asking about his health issues. My mom has health issues. Her heart is shattered. Her son was killed, left in the street, and now the murderer is walking around free to live life until someone decides to give us justice."
Dukes will have to be picked up from the Lafayette area and get transported back to Baton Rouge. He's scheduled to go to trial this spring.
He's also accused of murdering a man in Livingston Parish. According to the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, 43-year-old Kevin Dukes of Baton Rouge was booked for second-degree murder in the death of Fermin Pecina. Pecina was found shot-to-death along Hood Road in August 2018.
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