McKINNEY, Texas (Court TV) — A 17-year-old charged with murdering another teenager at a school track meet was released from custody hours after a judge agreed to reduce his bond.
According to records reviewed by Court TV, Karmelo Anthony was released from the Collin County Jail on Monday, where he had been held since his arrest on April 3.
Karmelo Anthony is charged with the murder of a 17-year-old at a track meet. (Collin County Jail)
Anthony is charged with murdering 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, a student from a different school who was at the track meet. Investigators say an altercation between the two boys began when Metcalf asked Anthony to leave his school’s tent and ended when Anthony stabbed the victim in the chest.
On Monday, Anthony appeared at a hearing where he asked for his bond, set at $1 million, to be reduced. Following testimony from Anthony’s father, the judge ruled that the bond should be reduced to $250,000, WFAA reported.
READ MORE | Texas teen charged with murdering 17-year-old at high school track meet
The judge also set strict conditions with the bond, including wearing an ankle monitor and asking permission before leaving his home. Other conditions reported by CBS News also include staying off social media and not engaging with his classmates or anything related to school.
Anthony is expected to present a self-defense argument as his case moves forward, after he told officers at the scene that Metcalf “put his hands on me,” and said, “I was protecting myself.”
By the time he left jail, an online fundraiser started to benefit Anthony’s defense had raised more than $400,000. At Monday’s hearing, Anthony’s father told the Court, “We do not have access to the money” when prosecutors asked why it hadn’t been applied to bond, KWTX reported.
