NEW ORLEANS — An accused killer was rearrested after a brief taste of freedom.
According to the electronic monitoring company Assured Supervision Accountability Program or ASAP, Khutbi Abdelkader removed his ankle monitor on Wright Avenue on the West Bank of Jefferson Parish Wednesday night.
“A little after 8 p.m., we received an alert that the offender had tampered with his ankle monitor, ASAP co-founder Matt Dennis said.
Abdelkader is accused of a May 2021 killing on Canal Street in New Orleans.
He was out on a $350,000 bond.
The terms of his release included 24-hour home incarceration and electronic monitoring.
“We sent our enforcement team to the location of the device, and we determined that we believe he removed it and threw it into the canal on Wright Blvd. in Gretna,” Dennis said.
Despite removing his monitor, Abdelkader showed up for a scheduled bond hearing Thursday morning at Orleans Criminal Court.
Judge Marcus Delarge asked deputies to place the suspect into custody.
“He walked into court, apologized to the court, said he was going through a lot. He did take it off and admitted to throwing it in the canal,” Dennis said.
Prosecutors were already seeking to revoke Abdelkader’s bond when he escaped.
They argue, that while the murder suspect was out on bond, he pleaded guilty to two felony drug counts in Jefferson Parish, was arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm, failed a court-ordered drug test, and was arrested on a DUI charge in St. Tammany Parish.
The judge ordered Abdelkader to be held without bond until his murder trial now scheduled for January 6.
It’s unclear if Abdelkader will face additional charges for his brief escape.
His attorney declined to comment at this time.
The Orleans District Attorney's Office sent a statement on the ankle monitor case.
"The record is clear. The DA’s office repeatedly moved to revoke the defendant’s bond when it was clear he could not reasonably be trusted to be released into our streets. Our arguments and multiple requests were unfortunately rejected by the court. We are fortunate this did not result in further loss of life. However, we cannot always rely on those odds as we’ve seen in several recent cases. This defendant was taken into custody this morning, where we will fight to keep him until he’s convicted for his violence in our community.”
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