A Collin County judge reduced the bond on Monday for 17-year-old Karmelo Anthony, the high school student accused of fatally stabbing another teenager at a Frisco track meet earlier this month.
After hearing testimony from Anthony’s parents and considering other factors, including the defendant’s age, lack of past criminal history, and ties to the community, the judge reduced the bond from $1 million to $250,000.
Anthony, charged with first-degree murder in the April 2 death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, will be placed under house arrest, according to the judge’s ruling. He will be required to wear an ankle monitor and must ask permission to leave his home. In addition, he will be required to check in with the court bailiff every week and cannot use social media.
Anthony’s defense attorney, Mike Howard, had asked the court to lower the bond to $150,000, but after the hearing, he stated to the press that he thought the judge’s ruling was fair.
“Bond, as the judge said, is not supposed to be an instrument of oppression, it’s not supposed to keep people in jail, it’s not supposed to punish,” Howard said, per WFAA. “It is to ensure that a person shows up to court, complies with all conditions, and it’s supposed to keep the community safe. This is a large and substantial bond and I think the judge has rightly imposed reasonable conditions that will ensure both Karmelo’s and the Anthony families’ safety but also the safety of the community.
Anthony’s defense team highlighted the family’s inability to meet the $1 million bond, which had kept the teen in Collin County jail since his arrest. The family’s financial struggles were a key point, with Anthony’s father testifying that he moved the family to a more secure location because of the notoriety of the case.
“This family needs to be able to survive. There’s been a tremendous amount of pressure. I think at this point, living in a gated community, given everything, the safety of their younger children is very warranted. Security details and criminal defense are not cheap,” Howard said, Fox 4 KDFW reported.
The prosecuting attorneys argued against the bond reduction, citing that the crowd-sourced GiveSendGo account, which has raised more than $418,000 for Anthony’s defense, could help cover the $1 million bond. However, Anthony’s family said they do not yet have access to those funds, and most of that will go to the lawyers for Anthony’s defense.
The stabbing occurred during a heated dispute at a Frisco ISD track meet, sparking community outrage. Anthony’s legal team has suggested the act was self-defense, though details remain under investigation.
During the hearing, Judge Angela Tucker said the court had never had the security issues it faced with this case.
Howard later commented to the press that the public reaction to the case has been “immense,” and he asked that “the temperature be allowed to come down.”
“Threats and talk of race war and all kinds of insanity isn’t good for, obviously, the Anthony family, it’s not good for the Metcalf family, it’s not good for the peace and safety of our community,” Howard said, per WFAA. “I would ask, and I know both sides would ask, that the temperature on this be allowed to come down.”
Social media users have been divided in their response to the news of the bond reduction.
X account holder Paul A. Szypula posted a 2021 video of the judge, adding the comment: “Angela Tucker is the activist judge who has just wrongly reduced Karmelo Anthony’s bond. In this video from 2021, she gives the DEI reasons she became a lawyer and judge. Tucker is clearly letting her politics get in the way of justice. She needs to be impeached and sanctioned.”
Another social media user, JD Delay, wrote, “The Austin Metcalf, Anthony Karmelo situation is tragic all the way around. It was thoroughly unnecessary. But this is not a race issue and making it into one is ridiculous.”