A judge on Tuesday set the bail bond amount for a 17-year-old charged with shooting and killing a 14-year-old Lawrence boy at $500,000 cash or surety, and should he make bond, he will be on house arrest.
Derrick D. Reed, 17, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Kamarjay Shaw, 14, in Lawrence. Douglas County District Court Judge Sally Pokorny on July 10 denied Reed’s motion for immunity from prosecution and also ruled he would be tried as an adult.
During the July 10 hearing, Pokorny said the evidence did not show that the reason Reed fired a gun was because he was in imminent danger.
Kamarjay and his friends on the afternoon of Saturday, March 18 went outside toward Reed’s home expecting a one-on-one fist fight between one of them and Reed, but they never set foot on his property, some of the friends testified on June 2. Ring camera footage shows the group running away from the home when shots were fired. Kamarjay was 191 feet away from Reed when he was hit, an investigator testified.
Pokorny then ruled during the July 10 hearing that the state could prosecute Reed as an adult because the shooting occured approximately four months before his 18th birthday and Kamarjay and his friends were retreating when Reed allegedly fired shots. She also said she was concerned that Reed might not be rehabilitated within the 4 1/2 years the juvenile justice system would allow him to be in custody. (Read more from the hearing in this article.)
Assistant District Attorney Ricardo Leal on Tuesday requested Reed’s bond be set at $1 million, meaning Reed would likely have to pay a bondsman $100,000 to be released. He said there was a “a huge danger to the community as a whole” from Reed’s actions. The shooting was in a public street, and anyone could have been hurt; also, though Reed eventually turned himself in, he initially fled the scene and hid the gun, Leal said.
Defense attorney Mark Hartman requested a bond of $200,000, meaning Reed would likely have to pay a bondsman $20,000 to be released. Hartman said Reed is not a flight risk and has close ties to Lawrence, where he’s always resided and where most of his family also lives. He also doesn’t own a passport, Hartman said.
Hartman also said he was concerned about Reed’s safety should he be released, and that he has a family member in a neighboring county with whom he could stay.
Pokorny said she, too, had concerns about Reed’s safety if he were let out on bond.
Pokorny said she thought a $500,000 cash or surety bond — which would mean Reed would need to pay about $50,000 to a bondsman — was sufficient to ensure Reed’s appearance in court. She ordered that he have GPS monitoring, and he would only be allowed to travel to meet with his attorney and go to medical appointments. Hartman also asked Reed to be authorized to work if he is able to secure employment, but the judge ruled against that for now.
Pokorny said Reed would be released to the custody of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office from the juvenile detention center on Friday, which is his 18th birthday.
Should Reed make bond, he is not to have any firearms, nor have any contact with any codefendants nor any civilian witnesses in the case, Pokorny said.
Reed’s next court date is a preliminary hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, August 14, set to last all day. The judge will determine after that hearing whether the evidence is sufficient for Reed to be bound over for trial.
Pokorny has not yet ruled whether or not the courtroom will be open to the public for the preliminary hearing. During Reed’s hearing on June 2, a disruption occurred in the packed courtroom when some of Kamarjay’s supporters argued that the way the state’s witnesses were barred from entering was unfair. Certain individuals who were present and may have been involved with the shooting incident or aftermath were allowed to stay. After Pokorny dismissed all members of the public, altercations briefly ensued outside the courtroom. Lt. Chris Johnston of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office on July 7 testified that the department called in at least 20 officers for backup.
Pokorny said her preference would be to keep the courtroom open if everyone maintains decorum. She said she will continue to consult with law enforcement, and she asked prosecutors to keep her in the loop about members of the public who would like to attend the hearing and about discussions with those people about courtroom decorum.
Pokorny noted during the July 10 hearing that her denial of Reed’s motion for immunity from prosecution did not mean that he would not be able to present a self-defense claim if the case proceeds to trial.
All arrestees and defendants in criminal cases should be presumed not guilty unless and until they are convicted.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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