True bill returned in Bunkie double murder

A 19-year-old Bunkie man is facing double murder charges after the Avoyelles Parish Grand Jury returned a true bill in the case.
Now the case will go to trial sometime in 2023.
District Attorney Charles Riddle said he will not seek the death penalty in the case.
Exzavian Burnette, 19, was charged with two counts of first degree murder in the January 19 shooting deaths of 25-year-old Devondrey Rashad Carter, and Delton Hamilton Jr., 20, both of Bunkie.
Burnette fled the scene after the shooting. After a two month search and investigation, Bunkie Police Chief Scotty Ferguson located and arrested Burnette on March 18 in Bunkie. He has since been held without bond in Avoyelles Parish Detention Center #1.
Conviction of 1st degree murder carries the possibility of a death sentence or of life in prison.
One factor that can result in a 1st degree charge rather than 2nd degree -- which carries a mandatory life sentence upon conviction -- is that more than one person was killed during the crime.
Burnette was 18 when the murders occurred. He turned 19 on Jan. 22.