The suspect in a shooting that occurred during the Texas State Fair last October saw a significant drop in his bond amount.
Cameron Turner, the 22-year-old suspect in a shooting that occurred during the Texas State Fair last year, has seen his bail whittled down from $1.6 million to $350,000 by a Dallas County judge. The move frustrated prosecutors, whose opposition was noted in court records obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
Turner has been in custody since the night of October 14 on felony assault and weapon charges stemming from a shooting on the state fairgrounds that left three people injured.
As previously covered by The Dallas Express, the suspect allegedly told investigators that he had been thrust “into survival mode” after an encounter with a menacing “group of big males” on the night in question. Turner allegedly pulled out a concealed handgun — despite weapon detectors being on-site to prevent firearms from being brought on the premises — and shot two men and one woman. All three victims were hospitalized for non-life-threatening wounds.
Turner’s next hearing on three second-degree felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one third-degree felony count of unlawful carrying of a weapon in a prohibited place is due to take place on February 16. However, the bail amount reductions made by Dallas County District Court Judge Nancy Mulder might soon facilitate his release on house arrest.
The electric monitoring of individuals charged with violent offenses has come under heavy scrutiny since Nestor Hernandez killed two Methodist Dallas Medical Center employees while on parole and was allowed to visit the hospital to see his newborn baby in October 2022. He had been released just two weeks prior on the condition of wearing an ankle monitor after serving a part of his eight-year sentence for violent aggravated robbery. He has since been convicted of capital murder, as covered by The Dallas Express.
Both Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia have been highly critical of such lenient practices.
“We need the very dangerous criminals to be arrested and to be in jail, not roaming our streets,” said Johnson in an interview with CBS News Texas last December. He stressed the importance of having the support of local judges and Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot, who has previously faced accusations of being soft on crime.
Although the Dallas Police Department has been striving to curb violent crime for years, these efforts have been hampered by a significant staffing shortage. DPD has only around 3,000 officers, even though a City report recommends a force of 4,000 to ensure public safety in Dallas.
Moreover, City officials have budgeted DPD only $654 million this fiscal year, which is considerably lower than the spending levels on police seen in other high-crime municipalities, including New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.