NEW ORLEANS — In an emotional court hearing Thursday, an 18-year-old who was captured in Texas after walking away from a juvenile halfway house was ordered to serve his original juvenile life sentence for paralyzing a man during a botched robbery.
Lynell Reynolds, who could have been weeks away from an early release, will now remain in custody until he turns 21.
Reynolds fled from a so-called “step-down” facility in Lake Charles on Sept. 13, allegedly helped by a former teacher. After Reynolds was caught almost three weeks later in San Antonio, prosecutors filed for a revocation of his early release from state juvenile detention.
When a defense attorney argued that there was no point in revocation since Reynolds was back in custody, Juvenile Court Judge Candice Bates Anderson signaled her change in position by snapping back, “Oh, I see a point.”
In a blistering speech Anderson said, “In 14 years on the bench, I have never felt this level of sorrow for everyone involved.”
Reynolds was 13 when he shot then-20-year-old Darrelle Scott, paralyzing him from the waist down. Anderson sentenced Reynolds to juvenile life, but gave him the opportunity for early release if he made rehabilitation milestones in state detention.
Scott and his family initially advocated for Reynolds, who suffered his own profound trauma with his mother and two siblings being lost to gun violence.
“We gave you every opportunity,” Anderson said, addressing Reynolds directly. “Everybody said, ‘You’re a child. A child can change. A child can do better.’ So we waited until you were 17. And this is what you do? Put this victim and this family in fear? Put this city in fear?”
In one chilling exchange, Anderson made Reynolds face Scott, who was seated feet away in a wheelchair.
“You shot me with no remorse,” Scott said. “I turned away and you still shot me in the back. You’ve been given chance after chance after chance. I advocated for you in the beginning.”
Despite a three-week manhunt involving the U.S. Marshals Service that led to Reynolds’ capture in San Antonio, an official with the State Office of Juvenile Justice said he would not be charged with escape because the Lake Charles halfway house is not a “secure facility.” Instead, he was classified as a “runaway.”
Angela Filardo, 31, the teacher who police say drove Reynolds to Texas, was booked with accessory to simple escape. It was not clear Thursday what will happen to Filardo’s case now that Reynolds is no longer being classified as an escapee.
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