Judge keeps $500,000 bail for alleged killer of girl, 8
Decision based on defendant’s criminal record, nature of crime
Family and friends packed the courtroom to see the suspected killer of 8-year-old De’Maree Adkins appear publicly for the first time since his arrest.
On one side sat the grandparents and mother of De’Maree, who was killed by a bullet to the chest nearly a month ago. They wore white T-shirts with a photo of De’Maree’s smiling face.
On the other side sat about a dozen relatives and friends of Adkins’ alleged killer, 19-year-old Jacobe Payton. They had not seen Payton since he was arrested Feb 27. They watched the doors with anticipation.
A judge would determine during the hearing whether to lower Payton’s $500,000 bail. Payton’s lawyer, Jeff Strange, argued Payton’s incarceration was illegal, and the bail was excessive. But Judge Maggie Perez-Jaramillo of the 400th District Court in Fort Bend County sided with the prosecutors, who said Payton’s juvenile and adult criminal record plus the heinousness of the crime fit the $500,000 bail.
Payton entered the courtroom in handcuffs and a green jumpsuit. The dreadlocks he had when he was arrested were shaved.
Strange spoke first. Payton’s family could not front the required 10 percent of the bail to get him out of jail, pending trial.
Karla Barnes, a retired postal worker and relative whom Payton calls his mother, said $5,000 was the most the family could muster.
Prior to his arrest, Payton had lived with Barnes, his girlfriend and their two toddlers. He had been a senior at Willowridge High School in Fort Bend ISD. He spent afternoons raising his son and daughter.
Payton allegedly shot and killed De’Maree around 2 a.m. Feb. 25 in southwest Houston. Two cars, one of which was Payton’s, collided with the Honda that De’Maree and her mother, 39-year-old Latoyia Thomas, were in.
After the crash, Payton allegedly opened fire at Thomas’ Honda, hitting De’Maree. The girl died at a hospital from her injuries. Thomas was physically uninjured.
Payton admitted to being at the scene, prosecutors said at the hearing. That, an eyewitness account and the fact that his car was in the crash was enough to put him in jail and keep him there pending his trial, with a halfmillion-dollar bail, they said.
Strange challenged the credibility of the witness tying Payton to the crime. This despite a magistrate ruling March 3 that law enforcement had the necessary proof to hold Payton in jail.
Barnes remained stoic as she testified. Prosecutors asked her why Payton had not graduated — he flunked first grade — and whether this was the latest in a pattern of illicit behavior. He has a juvenile and adult criminal record.
Barnes has questioned how the Payton she knew could have killed a child.
“He didn’t have a mean streak in his body,” Barnes said after Payton’s arrest last month.
Her brother thinks law enforcement must have made a mistake.
As the lawyers rehashed the details of the case — the speeding cars, the shell casings found at the scene — De’Maree’s mother wiped her eyes.
As the prosecutors listed Payton’s criminal record, his friends put their faces in their hands.
As a juvenile, Payton was charged with evading arrest and terroristic threats. As an adult, he was arrested and accused of stealing electronics valued between $2,500 and $50,000. He also has two assault cases pending in Fort Bend County, both of which happened at school.
When the judge made her decision, Payton’s girlfriend ran out of the courtroom. De’Maree’s grandparents and mother hurried out too, the latter wiping tears. Barnes stayed seated.
“Just try to get through the rest of the day,” Strange said to her and her brother.
Barnes watched Payton shuffle out of the courtroom in chains. She blew a kiss to Payton as he walked out the door.