Austin teen shooting suspect's capital murder charge reduced, bond granted
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Julietta Serrano stood outside the courthouse holding a sign reading "Justice for Bryan."
It's about her son who police say was shot and killed in May by a 17-year-old. The two did not know each other.
"It was my son that night, but it could be anyone else," Serrano said.
The suspect - Ervin Coronado-Palacio - was originally charged with capital murder and aggravated robbery. However, a grand jury indictment reduced those charges to murder and aggravated assault.
Palacio's defense attorneys filed a motion for the bond hearing after the charges were reduced, asking for a $50,000 bond on the murder charge and $15,000 on the aggravated assault charge.
The state asked for a $500,000 bond, saying "there's nothing more serious than murder."
A judge granted a $150,000 bond and added the condition of Palacio needing to wear a GPS monitor if he was released.
"There are a lot of factors that a judge would consider in that situation," attorney Logan Campbell said. Campbell is not on this case, but explained the factors a judge looks at in this case.
"Is this a repeat offender? Do they have a criminal history or do they have no criminal history? Whether the defendant is a flight risk if they get released from custody? Are there safeguards that can be put in place? Can the suspect be put on house arrest with an ankle monitor?" Campbell said.
Those factors came up during Palacio's hearing.
The state cited the violent nature of the crime at hand as well as Palacio's juvenile criminal history and family ties in Nicaragua as some of the reasons for a high bond. The defense argued his criminal history is nonviolent and said there was no evidence to show Palacio would leave the country. The defense also spoke in favor of release under the condition of GPS monitoring instead of keeping the suspect in custody.
The District Attorney's Office said it "opposed the bond amounts requested by the defense counsel after they presented no evidence or witnesses to justify the lower bond amounts during the hearing."
As of Thursday afternoon, Palacio was still in custody.