A Houston, Texas, judge cut the bail in half of the teenager arrested for allegedly paralyzing a Vietnamese woman during a robbery attack after his defense attorney argued that his family couldn’t afford the amount.
Harris County court records said that Judge Kristin Guiney lowered the bail from $200,000 to $100,000 for 17-year-old Joseph Harrell.
Harrell was arrested after surveillance video captured him allegedly body-slamming the victim and fracturing her spine.
Police believe the attack was a robbery called “jugging,” during which the suspect follows the victim from the bank after they withdraw money.
Investigators say that Harrell followed Nhung Truong for 24 miles and then assaulted her in order to steal $4,300 in cash she had withdrawn from the bank so that she could visit her family in Vietnam.
Prosecutors asked for the $200,000 bail after citing a previous charge for unlawfully carrying a weapon when Harrell had bailed out of jail for $100.
Court-appointed defense attorney Catherine Evans explained her argument to the court in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“I requested a bond considerably lower than what Judge Guiney actually set and informed her that the client’s family was currently unable to make his bond,” Evans said.
“Additionally, it was confirmed that bond conditions are in place that would place Mr. Harrell on 24 hour house arrest and require him to wear a GPS monitor should family members be able to post sufficient bonds at some point in the future,” she added.
Harrell faces another charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for a separate incident two weeks later during which he allegedly pointed a gun at a woman and her husband who had tracked him down after a purse robbery.
Truong’s children said that she was the main bread-winner in the household and that they were unsure how to pay rent or their other bills that were piling up.
Judge Kristin Guiney was appointed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbot, a Republican.
Here’s more about the shocking incident:
Houston teen bond cut in half after allegedly paralyzing woman in jugging incidentwww.youtube.com
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