The Eclectic 18-year-old indicted by a grand jury on a murder charge in the shooting death of his father will be tried as an adult.
Jesse Madison Holton was in court Friday for a youthful offender hearing to determine whether he would be granted the status.
Ultimately Circuit Judge Sibley Reynolds denied the request of Holton’s attorney that he be classified as a youthful offender. It was Holton’s first court appearance in months.
“Our hope and prayer that he be granted youthful offender status,” said Holton’s attorney Tom Azar Friday as he walking out of the Elmore County Judicial Complex. “I will tell you that Madison said that whether he is granted youthful offender status, or denied youthful offender status he wants a trial, he wants to prove his innocence.”
The following day a court document revealing Reynolds’ verdict would emerge.
“Upon consideration, defendant’s application for youthful offender status is denied,” the court record stated.
He was initially charged in 2016, while 17, for two counts of murder in the shooting deaths of both his mother and father.
However an Elmore County grand jury earlier this year indicted him only in the shooting death of his father.
Azar said Holton maintains his innocence, and some of his closest family also claimed he was innocent of the September 2016 double shooting.
Earlier this year his uncle and grandfather said they felt the incident was a murder-suicide, committed by Holton’s father, former fire chief and mayor of Eclectic Michael Holton.
Autopsy and toxicology reports were provided to The Herald with information said to corroborate their ideas on the real shooter.
Same as all plea hearings dozens of men and women held in Elmore County jails filled the Elmore County Judicial complex courtroom with Reynolds presiding.
Azar then said the youthful offender hearing itself was private and he could not disclose information discussed that day.
He did say that their position had not changed.
“Our position is Madison innocent of killing his father, grand jury’s already determined that he’s innocent of killing his mother and so we’re prepare to go forward to trial if we have to,” Azar said. “The state’s not ready to dismiss the case so we’re going to have to have a jury decide that question.”
The 19th Judicial Circuit District Attorney Randall Houston said his office was opposed Holton receiving youthful offender status.
Asked why, Houston said because the status had a limitation of three years’ sentence.
“This is a violent crime we think youthful offender should be reserved for a nonviolent crime,” said Houston.
As for he and his prosecutors, Houston said nothing had changed in their efforts to prosecute Holton for what they say is the murder of his father.
Earlier, it was the murder of both parents, but with the grand jury indictment those efforts were redirected to only the murder of Holton’s father.
Issues were taken as well with media reports of the case and information released that otherwise would not have been available.
Questions were raised by the DA’s office about the possibility of the case being moved to another location.
“There’s been a motion to move the trial, it hasn’t been addressed yet. I anticipate something will eventually happen,” Houston said.
He said that was on the defense.
“I always want to try in the county (it) occurred,” Houston said. “The state has seldom ever requested it be transferred, the people of the county in which it occurred should be the triers of fact.”
Next, he said would be a plea date and then a trial would be set.
Court records show a February 2018 plea date set.
