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Judge removed from murder case with gang connection; prosecuted different member as ADA

37 minutes 25 seconds ago Wednesday, January 21 2026 Jan 21, 2026 January 21, 2026 5:08 PM January 21, 2026 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - A judge presiding over a high-profile murder case involving a Baton Rouge gang was recused due to her prosecution of another gang member as an assistant district attorney. 

Judge Louise Hines was recused from Gervea Ferguson's second-degree murder case.

Ferguson was indicted along with three other people in the 2024 killing of Jonathan William. WBRZ previously reported that Ferguson is connected to the "Vultures" gang.

According to the motion of recusal, Judge Hines was a prosecutor for the East Baton Rouge District Attorney's office in 2022 and prosecuted Demetryion Grim, Ferguson's brother, in a gang-related shooting outside the Mall of Louisiana in 2022. 

"It is quite LITERALLY, impossible to forget a case of this magnitude considering the state's reasoning to link it to previous streams of violence that occurred throughout the city. The Judge can't 'unsee' what she has previously investigated," the motion for recusal said. 

Judge Collette Greggs signed the order of recusal. It's unclear which judge will take over the case. Court proceedings will continue at the end of January and a trial is scheduled for May. 

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