A North Texas manhunt came to an end Friday when a 20-year-old indicted for capital murder turned himself in to police after cutting off his electronic ankle monitor and allegedly violating the conditions of his house arrest.
The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force stated that Bryce Jones removed his ankle bracelet in a hardware store parking lot in McKinney on Thursday.
Jones maintained his fugitive status for about a day before turning himself in, marking the third time in a month that electronic ankle monitoring failed to secure a potentially dangerous suspect, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
Jones and three others were arrested and charged in a triple homicide in Dallas on July 4 of last year. He and several other suspects fired more than 100 rounds in a deadly shootout during a Hamilton Park neighborhood block party.
Following Jones’ arrest, a magistrate judge set his bail at $1.5 million, citing the supposed danger he would pose to the community if he were released, according to court documents.
However, in December 2021, Jones got his bail reduced to $400,000.
A district judge signed off on his release from jail on January 6, 2022. Prosecutors argued against the court’s move but to no avail. Jones made bail and submitted to house arrest and electronic ankle monitoring.
The Dallas Express spoke with Jones’ attorney, Thomas Cox III, and he explained that Dallas County judges are abiding by a federal court order that limits their discretion when it comes to setting bail.
“Judges have to show they take into account how much money a defendant has when ruling on the amount,” he said, noting that all of Dallas County’s criminal court judges are named as defendants in the lawsuit that led to the order. His client, for instance, had to be awarded a bail that he could reasonably afford to pay.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and other civil rights groups filed the suit back in 2018, alleging the county “routinely ignored an arrestee’s ability to pay money bail, still uses arbitrary bail schedules, and has made no real progress on their practices.”
One of the suit’s plaintiffs, Susanne Pringle, legal director of the Texas Fair Defense Project, praised the federal court’s ruling, stating, “This injunction is especially important because it’s the first in Texas that applies to people facing felony charges, as well as misdemeanor charges.”
Similarly, recently re-elected District Attorney John Creuzot has been the subject of criticism for his promotion and support of the bail “reform” movement. Cruezot argued that the system should be changed so that “poor defendants are [not] kept in jail because of their economic disadvantages
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, the move put him at odds with Dallas police chief Eddie Garcia, who argued that the types of policies Creuzot supported made the city less safe.
“What’s been going on with the irresponsible decisions that I have been seeing here since I took this position nearly two years ago, is the fact that bail reform [is letting] violent criminals back into our neighborhoods is not helping our communities of color,” Chief Garcia said. “It has emboldened violent criminals. It has reduced the trust that our community has in the system.”
Jones is currently back in Dallas County Jail, but it is unclear whether he will be allowed bail again.
Asked by The Dallas Express about his thoughts on the bail “reform” movement, Cox replied, “You know, there’s those that assert that their communities can be just as safe under those policies. I think that’s an open question.”
