Before his attorney could file a request for a bond reduction hearing for a teen charged with assisting his 15-year-old girlfriend after she allegedly stabbed her mother to death, the judge denied the request.
“I would be denying that motion for bond reduction due to the fact that he is a danger to the community,” Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Ross Boswell said Tuesday after the prosecutor listed numerous charges that Virgil L. King, 17, of Gary, had faced in juvenile court.
Defense attorney Thomas Mullins said he hadn’t yet had a chance to speak to King, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of assisting a criminal and auto theft, but was considering filing a request to reduce King’s bond from $30,000 surety, or $3,000 cash.
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King is alleged to have removed and concealed clothing, a weapon and an automobile allegedly used by Chastinea Reeves in the commission of the stabbing death of her mother, Jamie Garnett, 34, on Feb. 13. His case was transferred from juvenile court last month.
Deputy prosecutor Maureen Koonce said King has “a lot of prior history,” and listed several juvenile cases. Koonce said her records indicated that King had failed probation numerous times in the juvenile court system. Koonce said King is identified as the boyfriend of Reeves.
Reeves, 15, had been the subject of an Amber Alert after her mother was found dead at 2:10 a.m. Feb. 13 in the 4400 block of West 23rd Place in Gary. At about 2:30 p.m. Feb. 14, authorities found Reeves walking alone at 21st Avenue and Carolina Street in Gary, based on information generated from the Amber Alert.
Meanwhile, Reeves’ attorney, John Cantrell, is seeking bail for his client. A hearing has been set for Sept. 8 before Magistrate Kathleen Sullivan.
King’s next court date is Sept. 19.
Also charged with assisting a criminal and auto theft is Matthew Reginald Martin, 16, who was released on his own recognizance to electronic monitoring. Martin’s case is before Judge Clarence Murray, who agreed on June 23 to modify the terms of his bond and allow him to live at a Gary address instead of the Merrillville address he’d listed. Martin has pleaded not guilty. His next court date is Oct. 31.
Ruth Ann Krause is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.