Cash for Frisco Starten suspicious Karmelo Anthony lowered to 250,000 US dollars

McKinney – A judge of Collin County has agreed to reduce the deposit for the teenager who was accused

Judge Angela Tucker decided on Monday morning to reduce the deposit for Karmelo Anthony (17) from 1 million to 250,000 US dollars. The conditions are part of house arrest and wearing a ankle monitor.

Mike Howard, Anthony’s defender, said that he would expect Anthony’s family to be able to publish the bond because the amount was reduced, but he could not talk about how quickly Anthony would be published.

Anthony has been in custody since April 2 due to murder when he was arrested and accused of killing the 17-year-old Austin Metcalf in the District 11-5A meeting in the David Kuykendall Stadium of Frisco. He informed the police that he is in self -defense.

The factors taken into account on Monday included Anthony’s age, the lack of crime history and the connections to the community. This included several family members, close friends, a football coach and a manager of one of his part -time jobs who showed up for hearing.

On the side of the courtroom family, which was also full, Meghan Metcalf, Austin’s mother, reduced his head and cried when the decision was done.

Greg Willis, District Prosecutor of Collin County, said reporters, after negotiating that his office focused on the next steps, including the review of Frisco’s investigation and the handing of the case of a Grand jury, which is determined whether Anthony will be charged – and will be on trial.

“What we are concerned as a public prosecutor is justice, truth and accountability, and so we will go where the facts lead us,” said Willis.

Willis said he considered the case as a “terrible tragedy” not only for Frisco, but also for the entire community of Collin County.

“It is the most unnatural for a parent to lose your child,” he said. “It is permanent, it is profound, it is certainly premature.

“The Anthony family had a different kind of loss, but still a loss.”

Howard, Anthony’s defender, said he felt that the judge’s decision was fair. Woward asked during the hearing that Anthony’s bond should be reduced to $ 150,000.

“It shouldn’t be an instrument of oppression,” said Howard. “It shouldn’t keep people in prison. It should not punish. It should make sure that a person appears in court … and it should protect the community.”

Howard rejected it to deal with the details of the case, but said that “two sides for every story” and that after a complete examination he was confident that “the truth will come out”.

“Every Texan has the right to defend himself if he reasonably fears for his life,” he said.

Packed hearing

The hearing on Monday – a little less than two weeks after the deadly stitch – was full. About 10 minutes before the hearing began, the guards rolled off a woman who identified herself as the mother of a friend of the victim and said that all public seating was taken in the courtroom.

Andrew Anthony, Carmelo’s father, was the only witness called on Monday to testify.

He said his son was in Baton Rouge, La.

Andrew Anthony said his son, a senior at Frisco Centennial High School, has worked his way to the captain of both the football and the track teams, has two part-time jobs and is an A-student who made plans for college.

He added that his son was also a “big big brother” for three younger siblings.

After Karmelo Anthony had been arrested, Andrew Anthony said that he had to judge his job as a financial manager with a car dealer. He explained that he was the only provider of his household, with his wife being a mother.

They live from salary check to Paycheck, he said and could not afford a six -figure deposit.

From Monday morning, an online donation campaign for Karmelo Anthony exceeded 415,000 US dollars. When asked by prosecutors and deputy district attorney Bill Wirskye, why this money was not already used to get Karmelo Anthony out of prison, Andrew Anthony said that the website could not be accessed immediately.

Howard later added that the funds will also be needed for several other aspects of Anthony’s defense, including the payment of “man -power” such as experts and a team of investigators.

“It would be insufficient to say that there is no money,” Howard told the judge in his final declaration. “But it is not a proof of the proof. This family must be able to survive.”

Wirskye argued that $ 1 million was “not inappropriate during the holidays” and called the killing a “brutal murder”.

“I don’t know why we are here,” he said about the hearing and later added: “This crime destroyed our community on the ground. Our community needs trust in your court system.”

After hearing from both sides, Tucker promised to rely her decision on the law and the constitution, not to the court of public opinion, and repeatedly stated that the case of “unprecedented” security concerns had triggered for everyone involved.

Karmelo Anthony, who took part in the hearing in a yellow overall with his wrists, did not seem to be visible when Tucker announced her decision and led him firmly through the conditions of his bond.

“You can be there in a box or you can be at home – do you understand me?” Asked Tucker.

“Yes, Ma’am,” said Anthony.

The background

According to an affidavit for arrests, Anthony, a hundred-year-old student, waited a weather delay under a tent that for students of Frisco Memorial High School-in the Metcalf attended the school-when Metcalf told him that he should move.

Anthony supposedly reached into his pocket and said: “Touch me and see what happens,” said the affidavit. Metcalf then touched him what Anthony replied: “Beat me and see what happens.”

According to the report, Metcalf Anthony grabbed and told him again that he should move when Anthony took out a knife, Metcalf once stabbed and ran away.

Anthony later told the responding officials, he defended himself and explained: “He put his hands, I told him that he didn’t” “not” when he “cried”, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit said Anthony also asked if Metcalf would be okay. Metcalf, who died in the arms of his twin brother, was declared dead less than an hour after the stabbing in a hospital.

In a written explanation that was published last week, Anthony’s family said that they were “sincerely sad that life has been lost” and asked the public “not to judge all the facts and evidence”.

“This will surely be a long way in front of you,” says the explanation, “and in this demanding time we ask for prayers for both families and ask for your patience and your respect for the legal process while we are looking for the truth.”

Jeff Metcalf, father of Austin Metcalf, told beforehand The Dallas Morning News He feels like the family of the alleged attacker because “his life is over, his family is also destroyed.”

Jeff Metcalf not only described his son an all-distributor and the MVP of the Memorial Football Team, but also a member of the National Honor Society with a GPA of 4.0. He dreamed of playing College Ball.

“This would be his year,” said Jeff Metcalf.

The author of the staff, Hojun Choi, contributed to this report.