Wade Vaughn-Smith's family speaks out following sentencing delay
OPELOUSAS, La. (KLFY) -- The sentencing of Jaden Ardoin and Jaimon Mason for the murder of Wade Vaughn-Smith has been delayed in St. Landry Parish due to new documents submitted by Mason's attorney.
The sentencing, originally scheduled for today, has been postponed for 18 days as the judge reviews the newly submitted documents. This delay has left the family of Wade Vaughn-Smith waiting for closure.
Vaughn-Smith's loved ones, such as his cousin Victoria Smith, shared their reaction to this recent development in the case.
"This morning, we came here expecting to get a sentencing, and that didn't happen today, unfortunately," Smith said. "Justice has been served, but we were expecting to see what that looked like."
Despite the delay, the family remains hopeful and united. Smith emphasized their faith and resilience.
"Just keeping the faith. Believing God is the author of all things. Everything happens for a reason. So we're just going to continue with the process and just continue just to have faith and stick together like we've been doing this whole while." Smith said.
In memory of Wade von Smith, the family has established the Wade Shakeel Vaughn-Smith Foundation to combat gun violence.
"We're grateful and we're going to continue the fight against gun violence," said Michelle Hartford, Wade's aunt. "We do have a foundation, the Wade Shaquille Vaughn-Smith Foundation. And we are we will continue until the day we leave this earth to fight against gun violence."
The sentencing of Ardoin and Mason is now set for Oct. 20, as Wade von Smith's family continues to advocate against gun violence and seek justice for Wade.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KLFY. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KLFY staff before being published.