Parents of murdered New Iberia teen call for judge’s recusal after she reduced bonds for several suspects

NEW IBERIA, La. (KLFY) — Several suspects arrested for the murder of a New Iberia teenager are now out of jail on bond, and the victim’s parents are calling for the judge who lowered their bonds to recuse herself from the cases.

Garon Lewis, 17, was shot and killed in August 2019.

Since his death, seven suspects have been charged in connection to his murder, but recently several of the suspects were released from jail after Judge Suzanne de Mahy reduced their bonds.

“We are supposed to be getting justice, and instead, we have the courts selling us out,” the victim’s father, Raymond “Shoe-Do” Lewis, said. “They have to do a better job then this here.”

Garon’s father says one of the suspects’ bonds was reduced from $1 million dollars to $100,000. That man was charged with second-degree murder.

The judge also reduced the bonds of several others charged in connection to the murder.

“It’s just not fair for them to go free. I can’t go to the grave and say, ‘Wake up Garon. It’s all over with. Get up. Let’s go home.’ I can’t ever do that. It’s not fair,” Roxy Lewis, the victim’s mother, said.

Garon’s parents say they want the judge who allowed these men back on the streets to recuse herself. They believe she’s biased because of her ties to the public defender’s office. She had previously worked in the office.

“We are asking Judge Suzanne de Mahy to recuse herself because of the appearance of impropriety. We don’t know what her ties are with these public defender attorneys and because she could have a conflict of interest,” Lewis said.

Garon’s parents believe Judge de Mahy shouldn’t have given the suspects an opportunity to return to the community.

“My son’s life means nothing to Judge de Mahy. It means nothing,” Garon’s father said.

“I just don’t see how they can do this. It’s not right. It’s not justice,” his mother added.

Raymond Lewis says when they asked Judge de Mahy why she reduced the suspects’ bonds, she said it was due to a lack of probable cause as well as issues related to coronavirus.