Former Elton mayor pleads not guilty to battery charge

Former Elton mayor Kesia Lemoine pleaded not guilty Monday to a simple battery charge stemming from an altercation with another woman following a council meeting.

A bench warrant was issued Monday for Lemoine for failure to appear for the 9 a.m. arraignment. It was recalled after Lemoine arrived in court later in the day.

She appeared in court without an attorney.

A trial date has been set for Sept. 11 in the 31st Judicial District Court.

Lemoine is accused of getting into a verbal altercation with a woman who had been videotaping a council meeting last November. The altercation continued into the hallway after the meeting when Lemoine allegedly hit the woman in the chest and knocked the cell phone out of her hand.

Lemoine, who was elected mayor in December 2022, was removed from office by voters during an April recall election. The recall stemmed from allegations of voting irregularities during the mayoral election.

Before being elected as mayor, Lemoine had served eight years on the Elton Town Council, serving the last year as mayor pro tem.