A 24-year-old man facing a voluntary manslaughter charge is out of custody after a Hamilton County judge reduced his bond more than $700,000 over the course of two hearings.
Criminal Court Judge Don Poole agreed to reduce Jadarius Knox's bond from $750,000 to $200,000 and then to $10,000 after a second bond hearing Monday in connection with the killing of Aaron "Dakota" Biddle, 21, outside of a duplex in May. Knox posted cash bail that afternoon and will return to court Nov. 14.
Public defenders say Poole followed the law and made the right decision. Biddle's mother said the bond reduction was disappointing because the evidence shows Knox didn't need to kill her son.
Jadarius Knox"There's nothing else that can be done," Samantha Baltazar said Tuesday. "It's really gone down south and I don't find any of this fair at all."
Police say Biddle went to his ex-girlfriend's house on May 25 in the 7800 block of Basswood Drive to pick up some of his belongings. Knox, the father of Biddle's ex-girlfriend's child, was also there to see the child and hang out before work.
According to court testimony, Biddle tried to start an argument with Knox, threw a jar at him, and punched and kicked him before Knox ran outside with a gun that he'd recently found while doing community service. Police say Knox racked the weapon and waited outside. When Biddle walked out holding Knox's Xbox gaming system, he asked Knox if he was going to shoot him. Knox fired one round.
During a preliminary hearing in June, public defenders said Knox acted out of self defense, pointing to a text message in the days before the incident in which Biddle threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend and referred to Knox, who is black, with a curse and a racial slur.
Prosecutors countered Knox knew Biddle was coming over, had a gun on him, didn't call 911 during the interaction and shot Biddle when he could've run away. General Sessions Court Judge Gary Starnes said he found no evidence that Biddle was still a threat when he stepped outside. He found probable cause for Knox's criminal homicide charge, sent it to a Hamilton County grand jury and kept the $750,000 bond the same.
Since a typical case takes six to eight weeks to be presented to a grand jury, defendants have the option to ask for a bond reduction in the meantime, which is what Knox's defenders did.
Knox, Biddle's ex-girlfriend, and a relative, Ruth Flemister, with the Hamilton County 911 Emergency Communications District, testified before Judge Poole on Sept. 17 about Knox's two-year work history at an area Buffalo Wild Wings and his time as a father.
When setting bond or considering a reduction, judges look at a person's past criminal record, their ability to make arrangements to return to court, the facts of their case, the seriousness of their current charges and likelihood of conviction and their community ties and employment history.
In his order, Poole said many of these factors weighed in Knox's favor, but that none of them appeared to be considered when his first bond was set.
"Under [state law] bond should be set as low as possible to ensure the presence of the defendant in court and to protect the public," Poole wrote in an order, and agreed to reduce bond to $200,000.
At the time, Knox was still charged with criminal homicide, which is often a catch-all accusation that defendants face until prosecutors take their case to a grand jury and get a more specific charge: First-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter.
After a grand jury returned an indictment for voluntary manslaughter against Knox in early October, his public defenders asked for another bond reduction, this time to $10,000.
Deputy Public Defender Mike Little said Knox faces three to six years for the charge and has no prior criminal history in Hamilton County's courts system. In court Monday, he told Poole Knox had a place to stay if released.
Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.