The Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal has affirmed the murder conviction of an Opelousas man.
According to a release from the 15th Judicial District Attorney, the appeals court affirmed the second-degree murder conviction of Zachary Adams, 40, who was convicted by a jury in 2024 of the 2022 slaying of Jalen Walker of Lafayette.
Appeal Judge Ledricka J. Thierry wrote the opinion of the appellate court, joined by Judges Elizabeth A. Pickett and Wilbur L. Stiles.
Walker’s mother, Marcel Hoskins, testified at the defendant’s sentencing hearing on March 13, 2024, telling District Judge Michele Billeaud that Adams had not only taken her son from her by shooting him, but also away from the victim’s three young children, and that he deserved to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Hoskins said that her son was studying to become a chef, and once he had a restaurant, he wanted to provide food for the homeless in the Lafayette area.
Adams was a convicted felon, having been previously convicted of Second Degree Battery related to a 2001 homicide, and of Battery of a Correctional Facility Officer in 2003.
Defendants convicted in Louisiana of felonies such as Second Degree Murder, are allowed an automatic appeal of their conviction to the appropriate Louisiana circuit court of appeal, the release states.
