Baldwin teenager indicted in deaths of mother, brother

BY JEFF MOORE THE DAILY IBERIAN
Published/Last Modified on Friday, January 30, 2004 1:47 PM CST

FRANKLIN - A Baldwin teenager accused in the shooting deaths of his mother and brother was indicted on first-degree murder charges Thursday.

Torrance Charles Harmon, 19, is accused of shooting 45-year-old Joyce Harmon and 20-year-old Clarence Harmon at the family's Baptiste Street home earlier this month.

Baldwin Police Chief Gerald Minor said Harmon admitted to the shootings after Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office deputies found him walking along Louisiana 182 between New Iberia and Jeanerette. Minor said Harmon has not indicated a motive for the killings. He said Harmon's mother had recently kicked him out of the house because items were missing.

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Harmon allegedly returned to the home on Jan. 3 at 7:30 a.m., armed himself with a 20-gauge pump shotgun, and fired three shots each at his mother and brother. Police said they found the gun in a ditch about half a block away from the home.

Assistrict District Attorney Jim McClelland said he could not discuss what evidence was presented during the closed-door grand jury hearing, only its outcome. He said Harmon was charged with first-degree murder because he had the intent to kill more than one person.

If convicted, he faces possible death sentences on both counts.

"His case has to be allotted to the capital case allotment system that is present here in the district," McClelland said. "As soon as we learn the judge to whom he's been allotted, an arraignment will be scheduled before that judge."

McClelland said the arraignment must come within 30 days of the indictment.

The minimum penalty for first-degree murder is life imprisonment.

Comments

    tommy wrote on May 31, 2009 3:08 PM:

    " what was the cause of the fire "

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