Karmelo Anthony Murder Trial: Judge Sets STRICT Rules & Heightens Security! #karmeloanthony #texas

[00:00:09]All right, welcome back, kings and queens, y'all. Today we are talking Carmelo Anthony. We are 7 days out from the beginning of the official trial. If you're not familiar with the case, Carmemelllo Anthony is an 18-year-old boy, African-American boy, who's charged with firstdegree murder.

[00:00:27]Carmelo is being tried as an adult for the murder of Austin Metaf, who's a Okay. And according to reports, Austin died in his twin brother's arms after he was stabbed in the heart by Carmelo at a public school track meet. Oh yeah, pull up a seat. Let's get into it. Police reports state that the mech that uh Austin Metaf told Carmelo Anthony to move from underneath the team's tent. If you're familiar with sports and how they work, right? I do believe if things haven't changed so much. Listen, when you are dealing with track and field, you have these different teams that are on the field all day every day and they have these tents or can have these tents that the kids can go under to rest.

[00:01:09]Okay. And it sounds like in this situation, the twins had a tent. They noticed that Carmelo was there and for whatever reason, they decided he needed to go.

[00:01:20]police reports that Austin confronted Carmelo and he said, "Hey, you need to go." To which Carmelo responded, "Touch me and see what happens."

[00:01:31]But we're going to listen, we're going to get into the official police report.

[00:01:35]I don't want to do it just yet. I just want to give you a brief summary of what's going to go down June 1st, Monday morning in McKini, Texas. According to the report, Math then grabbed physically grabbed Carmemelllo to get him to move out of the tent. Carmelo allegedly pulled out a knife from his bag and stabbed Austin one time in the chest before fleeing, dropping the the weapon, and leaving the scene. So, the trial is scheduled to begin Monday, May June I mean, I'm sorry, Monday, June 1st. And the judge, because this is such a sensational and substantial trial, they have heightened security. The judge has implemented curfews. And the judge tightened media access and security rules ahead of the trial for the 18-year-old accused of stabbing Austin Metaf to death during a Frisco ISD track meet in April of 2025. Y'all, when I tell you we're about to get into it, pull up a seat.

[00:02:33]For those of you who are just tuned in or if you're new to the channel, welcome to the palace. I am Queen Sheibba. I cover a variety of hot topics specific to reality television, but most importantly, I hone in on the psychological and behavioral traits of the black experience.

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[00:02:53]>> I'll be the first to say there is a lot going on with this trial. Trust and believe me when I say it. And when I say this is probably going to be one of the most in incited ragebait trials, racebased race uh bait trials, political bait trials. And to top it all off, the judge has imple uh implemented strict orders, y'all, that has limited media access to the main courtroom.

[00:03:24]Is this a problem? I don't know, but I think it's going to be because for whatever reason, well, I'll just say the 29th the the 296th District Court in Colin County has decided that the courtroom space is extremely limited and as a result, the judge has allocated access to nine members of the media. We get it. We understand, as you know, I've covered high-profile cases before, in particular, the state of New York versus Shawn Combmes, aka Diddy.

[00:03:55]And I have to say, the state of New York did a very good job, right? Limited media seats, limited availability for the public.

[00:04:04]Many of us who apply for media access were not approved. I get it. But that should be separate outside of the courthouse because in New York the court did not decide who gets media credentials because it was a first come first serve. We all got media credentials if we applied and followed the the the procedures and the policies, right? And the media credentials or the credentiing pass lasts for I do believe two years in New York, right? But you still have to get in line in a media line where it's first come, first serve. In Texas, the judge decided to do something different.

[00:04:38]They gave priority to legacy media outlets who cover Colin County and their courts on a regular basis.

[00:04:47]That still leaves room for you to say, "Well, maybe this is the only way and this it's fair." So, when you go through the list, they did provide us a list of the outlets that were granted access to the court. Let me name them off to you.

[00:04:59]The Associated Press, KD, KDFW TV, KXAS TV, WFAA TV, KTVTV, The Dallas Morning News, Community Impact, and The Daily Mail.

[00:05:15]Now, you pause and you say, "Well, okay, I can understand it." But when you think about the judge's order and the reason why the court stated that they find this case has generated a substantial public and media attention and that unrestricted access or activity may compromise courtroom security. I got it.

[00:05:37]Check. Juror privacy. I got it. Check.

[00:05:40]And the defendant's right to a fair trial. That's when I say, "Excuse me."

[00:05:44]And I have to draw up my church finger because if the goal is to ensure that the defendant receives a fair trial because this is a highly visible racial case. Do we want it to be like that? No. But that's where the people are taking it. Right, fair, wrong, or there is race wars because of this on social media. right now. If you want it to be or to establish that the defendant receives a right to a fair, can you answer why the nine legacy seats or the nine legacy media outlets that have been admitted to the courtroom for dedicated seats are all white media outlets?

[00:06:27]I'm asking it is just a simple question.

[00:06:34]Now, I'm just saying, do you do you feel like the the defendant Carmelo Anthony would be in a position to receive a fair trial if the dedicated media outlets are predominantly all white media outlets? Does this even matter considering the case has taken a very dark turn?

[00:06:58]And I'm not going to say because of the people that are handling the case. I'm going to say because of the people that live in the town of which the case is being litigated, tried. Now, over here, we like to we like to be fair. We try to be fair.

[00:07:12]We're not going to give you what you want. We're going to we're going we're going to put some things in front of you to really get you to thinking and we're going to ask the hard honest questions.

[00:07:22]So when you think about McKenna, Texas and you think about the order of the judge reeregulating some of the things that he has instructed, McKenna Texas as of early 2026 is 52 to 60% white, 14 to 20% Asian, 10 to 14% black andor African-American.

[00:07:43]If you have nine media outlets that are white, what this means, whether they were white or black, right? But in this case, they're white. So, you're going to have little to no diversity reflecting the viewer engagement that's going to tune in to follow this trial. That's the first thing.

[00:08:02]The second thing is those outlets are going to be the only outlets from a court perspective that get to carry or control the narrative of what's going on in the courtroom because they have dedicated seats. you may or may not get all of the details because when we think about conservative conservative um traditional media outlets, there is a level of an expectation, right? But there's also rules and guidelines that they have to adhere to. And I do not see a legacy media outlet that's just local going against the local consensus of what the people want. And when you talk about who are the people, I'm talking about the vast majority of the people in McKenna, Texas, 52 to 60% white. Those are just the facts. There's probably a level of expectation that that vast majority is going to expect you as a legacy media outlet to get in there and get the job done. Do you follow me?

[00:08:59]Right, wrong, and or indifferent. Let me say it again. White, wrong, or indifferent.

[00:09:06]Is this a setup to a fair trial? That's not for me to answer because I'm not a part of the jury. Day one, June 1st, 7 days from now, they're going to begin the process of jury select. Uh they're going to be talking and kind of assessing potential individuals to sit on the jury. Do you feel that Carmelo Anthony is already or have been placed in a position as a defendant is having to overcome a deficit?

[00:09:39]Does it matter who the media selection is? Will you be tuning in to any of these news outlets as your go-to?

[00:09:50]Just a lot of questions, right? So, regular people, well, not even regular people, even indep regular people, independent journalists and other news outlets are going to have to battle against people, regular people. Let me just say that. I'm I think I'm trying to be too conservative. You have other independent journalists like myself, other news outlets from all over the world that are coming or may decide to come to report on this trial. And it's going to be a first come, first serve. For those of us who are not approved for media access, we do have the ability to watch the trial as a member of the general public and seating for the general public is on a first come, first serve basis. Y'all, it's going to be a feeding frenzy. It's going to be mayhem. It is going to be hell on wheels.

[00:10:41]in a town that is 52 60% white.

[00:10:46]My question to you, do you feel cuz I I feel like they did a really good job of this in the Diddy trial. I was there. There were dedicated seats for the media. We all received credentials, those of us that apply for it, but you still have to come on a first come, first- serve basis for media, right? There was a dedicated media line. They went in first and there was a dedicated line for the general public.

[00:11:07]I think it was 22 seats for the media, 14 for the general public.

[00:11:15]Media still had to work their asses off to get in line to ensure that if they wanted to sit in that courtroom as TMZ, if they wanted to sit in that courtroom as Queen Sheba, then I had to be in line.

[00:11:28]And no outlet was giving superiority or priority over the other.

[00:11:34]I feel like Shawn Daddy Combmes, the state of New York versus Southern District of New York versus Shawn Combmes, they did an excellent job. Do you feel that this trial is going to be bigger than Shawn Combmes? Or do you feel maybe Texas is not as experienced with this type of uh media coverage or just attention and as a result they're being overly safe and they're kind of restricting who gets to report on the case? What do you what are your thoughts?

[00:12:09]H I think it's going to be I think it's going to be a a [ __ ] show if you ask me.

[00:12:13]Um because when you take into consideration no more The nine members of the media shall be permitted in the courtroom at any one time. Seating shall be on a space available basis. The courtroom door shall close approximately at 9:00 a.m. I follow that, right? Law and order. But then it says once admitted into the courtroom, no person shall leave and reenter during proceedings except during a recess. That's pretty strict. Let me tell you why. I was in the courtroom and I had my media credentials. I was in a courtroom for the Diddy trial, both as a media outlet and some days I sat on the public side.

[00:12:56]You guys, Texas, come on. What about when we have to go to the ladies room or someone has to excuse themselves to relieve themselves? Do you feel this is way too strict? And of course, you want decency and you want people to abide by courtroom procedures because there's times that even I had to say, "Okay, what the hell is going on here?" But once you set the expectation, most people will adhere. But you mean to tell me we can't even go to the bathroom? And when you consider how long these proceedings can last, they can go.

[00:13:29]They can go.

[00:13:32]That's all I'm saying.

[00:13:35]It says, "The determination of who qualifies as a member of the media, which media representatives will be permitted access to the courtroom, and the allocation of media seating shall be made with the assistance of the courtappointed public information officer for the court." Let me say this because I'm sure that the p the PIO has received a lot of backlash, a lot of what what do we call it? Push back and probably outright rude communications.

[00:13:56]For me, in my experience, I have to say it's been nothing but positive. And I think that the decision is above the PIO.

[00:14:05]Well, I don't know, but it is what it is what it is. And according to the judge, he is not backing off. I think you may have to rethink it. And I think you should allow yourself room to pivot. I do. So, what I'm doing is I'm giving you a rundown. I'm just quickly summarizing and or just giving you an overview of what's to be expected, a little bit of background about what's happening, and then the rest of the fluffy stuff we will fold in as we move along as it pertains to covering this trial. But Judge Roach, who's out of the 296th District Court, signed an order on Thursday, April 16, 2026. And he outlined regulations that he's implemented for the trial proceedings, media access, security, and courtroom decorum for Carmelo's trial that's set 7 days from now, June 1st, 2026. And the order stated, as I said, no visual or audio recording will be allowed by media or anyone else in the courtroom. I like that rule because it sets an even tone for the playing field, right? May the best man or the best woman win.

[00:15:08]Seating will be limited with designated areas reserved for families, members of the media, and the public. The court says in the order that the doors will close approximately at 9:00 a.m. each morning, and people will not be admitted until after a recess. I got that part.

[00:15:22]But you mean to tell me we can't go to the bathroom? Even if we hell, we're not even guaranteed to make it into the courtroom, but we can't go to the bathroom.

[00:15:31]Security, they expect mayhem. They They feel like some of you are going to act an absolute fool because security is expected to be heightened. The judge has implemented a curfew, y'all. A curfew from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Now, that's when you know there's a high risk, and the risk ain't us. It's them. It's the people that live in the town. What the hell is going on?

[00:15:53]They're going to be checking bags at the courthouse and also PIP uh according to the court order quite possibly within the courtroom as well, judges and neighboring courtrooms have adjusted their dockets, their calendars accordingly to accommodate this high-profile case. Texas, I think you're being overly careful. I like the fact that you're outlining it, but leave a little bit of room for flexibility. Okay, that's all I'm saying. The court order also stated that this case generated substantial public and media attention and that unrestricted access or activity may compromise courtroom security, juror privacy, and the defendant's right to a fair trial. I think you're kind of restricting his right to a fair trial when you only appoint nine major white media outlets. I think it's contradictory to what you say the goal is or what you're aiming for. So basically the rundown is Carmemelllo Anthony was indicted on June 24th, 2025 for firstdegree murder and is being tried as an adult. This is tough. He's being tried as an adult.

[00:16:59]That's what's happening in real time.

[00:17:02]What are your thoughts so far? Okay. In the bill of indictment reads that in the name and by authority of the state of Texas, the grand jury of Collins County, state of Texas, duly organized on January 2025.

[00:17:22]Hold on.

[00:17:25]determined district court of said county is said court do present that Carmelo sincere Anthony here and after call defendant on or about the second day of April 2025 in said county and state did according to the bill of indictment then and there intentionally and knowingly cause the death of an individual namely Austin Metaf by stabbing Austin with the knife a deadly weapon then and there with the intent to cause serious bodily injury to Austin Medaf, an individual, commit an act clearly dangerous to human life by stabbing Austin with a knife, a deadly weapon that caused the death of Austin. And it's signed by the foreman of the grand jury and filed June 24th of 2025. Y'all, this case is going to be one of those cases. So far, here's what we have. Monday, June 1st is going to be a jury management day. Tuesday, jury June 2nd is going to be a no jury day.

[00:18:32]Wednesday, June 3rd is a V or V or Dh v or dire jury selection. Thursday, June 4th is the opening arguments presented by the prosecution and the defense. Um, Carmelo, I think you have a problem.

[00:18:48]I think you're already starting the game off number one in a deficit. That's just my personal belief um based on the media selections. Now, here's the good thing.

[00:19:00]I unfortunately I I cannot tell you that I'm going to be in the courtroom like I was able to do for those of you that tune in to my coverage for the Sean Cones uh the Diddy trial because of I I have to go I have to battle it out, you know, with public access. Listen, listen. The way it works is the courthouse is it's supported by taxpayers dollars. So, if a homeless person beats me in line, they get the seat, right? You know, rightfully so.

[00:19:26]Um, I'm going to do my best. It sounds like they've put us in a position that we got to do get out. We have to do get out and I'm willing to duke it out. Um, and may the best man, may the best woman win. That's it. That's all. What do you >> breaking news? Independent Media Matters and Queen Sheba is preparing for live coverage of the Carmelo Anthony trial, bringing realtime commentary, courtroom updates, and exclusive reporting directly to the people. To support travel and reporting expenses, donations can be sent to Cash App, dollar sign Queen Sheba Biz. Support independent media. Support Queen Sheba.