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A suspect in an Andalusia murder investigation was in court this week after allegedly leaving the state and then missing a court appearance.

Damien LaShawn Beasley, 17, was arrested in April and charged with the murder of Layla Watson who was killed by a gunshot wound on April 6.

After his arrest, Beasley was released on a $1 million bond. On June 13, a motion was filed for bond revocation as it was alleged he had left the state without permission. The state based the claim based on social media activity. An arrest warrant was issued for Beasley and a bond hearing set for June 21, for which he did not appear.  On June 22, Beasley did appear at the Covington County Courthouse where he was taken into custody and the bond revocation hearing took place shortly after.

Following the testimony, Circuit Court Judge Lex Short ordered that Beasley’s bond be increased from $1 million to $1.05 million. A second bond was increased from $15,000 to $20,000. Short also ordered that Beasley could not leave the areas of Covington and Crenshaw counties.

Beasley was released later that day after meeting the increased bond amount requirements.