A Baton Rouge man with multiple felony convictions will return to prison after admitting in court that he beat a man to death with a tree branch four years ago.
Antonio Jerome Palmer was set to be tried for second-degree murder and armed robbery this week in the May 2021 killing of 42-year-old Keldric Lewis. But he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter Monday inside the 19th Judicial District Courthouse.
District Judge Carson Marcantel sentenced Palmer to 35 years in prison, according to 19th JDC court records. State prosecutors dismissed the armed robbery charge in exchange for Palmer’s guilty plea, records show.
It’s not Palmer’s first violent crime. Records show he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in November 2012 and was sentenced to 12 years behind bars. That conviction stemmed from a May 2011 shooting in the 3000 block of Madison Avenue. Arrest reports indicate Palmer fired a gunshot at a man after the victim refused to shake his hand.
Police said the motive for the most recent attack appeared to be robbery. Lewis was beaten to death the evening of May 1, 2021. He was found lying unresponsive beneath a tree in a vacant lot in the 1500 block of North Acadian Thruway West, according to court records.
He was rushed to a hospital, where he died from blunt force trauma injuries two days later. An autopsy revealed Lewis sustained a skull fracture and bleeding to the brain.
Baton Rouge detectives learned that a man used a large tree branch to beat Lewis over the head multiple times before taking the victim’s belt pouch.
A Crime Stoppers tip helped Baton Rouge police develop Palmer as a suspect. Hammond police officers also relayed details from a confidential informant that Palmer was hiding out with a cousin in Hammond, prosecutors said.
Detectives questioned Palmer in June 2021, four days after he was arrested in East Baton Rouge on unrelated charges that stemmed from reports he pointed a gun at someone in the 2800 block of Fairfields Avenue.
When investigators initially questioned Palmer, he said he knew Lewis but indicated he only learned of his death after the fact. He later confessed to killing the victim, prosecutors alleged in pre-trial motions.
Antonio Jerome Palmer was set to be tried for second-degree murder and armed robbery this week in the May 2021 killing of 42-year-old Keldric Lewis. But he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter Monday inside the 19th Judicial District Courthouse.
District Judge Carson Marcantel sentenced Palmer to 35 years in prison, according to 19th JDC court records. State prosecutors dismissed the armed robbery charge in exchange for Palmer’s guilty plea, records show.
It’s not Palmer’s first violent crime. Records show he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in November 2012 and was sentenced to 12 years behind bars. That conviction stemmed from a May 2011 shooting in the 3000 block of Madison Avenue. Arrest reports indicate Palmer fired a gunshot at a man after the victim refused to shake his hand.
Police said the motive for the most recent attack appeared to be robbery. Lewis was beaten to death the evening of May 1, 2021. He was found lying unresponsive beneath a tree in a vacant lot in the 1500 block of North Acadian Thruway West, according to court records.
He was rushed to a hospital, where he died from blunt force trauma injuries two days later. An autopsy revealed Lewis sustained a skull fracture and bleeding to the brain.
Baton Rouge detectives learned that a man used a large tree branch to beat Lewis over the head multiple times before taking the victim’s belt pouch.
A Crime Stoppers tip helped Baton Rouge police develop Palmer as a suspect. Hammond police officers also relayed details from a confidential informant that Palmer was hiding out with a cousin in Hammond, prosecutors said.
Detectives questioned Palmer in June 2021, four days after he was arrested in East Baton Rouge on unrelated charges that stemmed from reports he pointed a gun at someone in the 2800 block of Fairfields Avenue.
When investigators initially questioned Palmer, he said he knew Lewis but indicated he only learned of his death after the fact. He later confessed to killing the victim, prosecutors alleged in pre-trial motions.
Baton Rouge man gets 35 years in fatal beating with tree branch
Police said he used a large tree branch to club the victim over the head multiple times, then left him for dead.
www.theadvocate.com