BELLE CHASSE, La. — In a criminal case that has sparked raw emotions on both sides, a teenager facing an aggravated battery charge stemming from an ATV collision with a Plaquemines Parish deputy has been granted a rare change of venue.
Reginald Hamilton, along with co-defendant Kody Blanchard, will be tried in St. Charles Parish after Plaquemines Parish Judge Michael Clement granted a motion by Hamilton’s attorney Ryan Thompson.
“From the very beginning it was apparent to us, given the sheriff’s statements and the reaction by the community, that Reginald and Cody could not receive a fair trial in Plaquemines,” Thompson said Tuesday. “We believe today’s ruling is reflective of that.”
Hamilton, then 18, is accused of ramming Plaquemines Parish Deputy Lt. Edmund Fisher on the Woodland Bridge after a chase. Fisher stepped out of his police cruiser and was on the bridge when he was struck by Hamilton’s ATV, sending both men to the hospital with severe injuries. Thompson maintains that Fisher stepped into the path of Hamilton’s ATV.
Fisher’s leg was mangled and later amputated, while Hamilton suffered a serious head injury. Hamilton originally was booked with attempted murder, but dash cam video of the chase and subsequent crash opened up questions about the case and a grand jury issued an indictment for the downgraded charge of aggravated second-degree battery. In addition, Hamilton and Blanchard both face felony counts of aggravated flight and aggravated obstruction of a highway.
At a press conference the day after the May 31, 2022 wreck, Plaquemines Parish Sheriff Jerry Turlich said Fisher was trying to flag the ATV down when Hamilton intentionally struck the deputy.
But the video shows that Hamilton and Blanchard were riding slowly on Woodland Highway when deputies surrounded them, then bumped the back of ATVs as the chase picked up speed.
At one point, a deputy can be heard as he pulls directly behind the two teens on the ATVS and says, “I'll f***ing bump you, brah.” A short time later, as the chase picks up urgency, a deputy is heard saying, “Smoke em. Smoke em.”
The next thing on the video is Hamilton’s ATV hitting Lt. Edmund Fisher in the middle of the Woodland Bridge, which crosses over the Intercoastal Canal into the Cut-Off neighborhood of Algiers where Hamilton lives.
The change of venue means that jurors will be selected from a St. Charles Parish, although Clement will continue to preside over the case and Plaquemines Parish District attorney Charles Ballay will lead the prosecution.
In his ruling, Clement wrote that the change of venue is necessary due to the “tight-knit nature of the community.”
“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,” he wrote in a two-page ruling.
He also cited “the multitude of fundraising events to support the injured deputy.”
Thompson, who has maintained his client’s innocence from the beginning, said he expects the trial to be held in 2024.
