Local court officials explain process of determining bond 1 day after woman charged with murder saw bond reduced to $50k
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A woman charged with felony murder is still listed on the Boone County Jail roster on Friday evening, a day after she was given a bond.
Alexis Baumann, 18, of Hallsville, saw her bond reduced to $50,000 on Thursday and is eligible for home detention. She is charged with first-degree robbery, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of felony murder.
Baumann's other co-defendants: Kobe Aust, 18, Joseph Crane, 18, and a juvenile are still being held without bond. Aust has another bond hearing on Tuesday.
Michael Ryan Burke was shot to death on Jan. 18 in the 1400 block of Ridgemont Court. Court documents allege Burke had used Facebook Marketplace to arrange to arrange a cellphone sale. In previous reporting Baumann allegedly told officers the juvenile suspect and Crane went into the home shot Burke, took his phone, and then the group sold it at a local ecoATM.
Court documents also place Baumann and Aust in the getaway car at the time of the shooting.
A former judge told ABC 17 News that deciding a bond is one of the most difficult decisions they make.
"You have to judge whether or not the defendant, he or she, is a threat to the community," said Gary Oxenhandler, who is a retired Boone County Circuit Judge. "Then the other side of the the scale is the presumption that we're all innocent until proven guilty."
Oxenhandler said it's unlikely Baumann's bond decision would influence the decisions for her other co-defendants due to most judges not taking influence from decisions in cases that are not theirs.
"You can hardly compare the two people that are being held without bond," he said. "Their circumstances could be entirely different from one another."
Aust was determined on Wednesday to not be eligible for home detention. Court documents also revealed he provided officer's the location of where the gun used by the juvenile suspect was hidden after the shooting.
"Someone may have had a a bigger part in what transpired and that might be something that gets considered when judges are looking at the case," Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson said.
Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson explained other factors that a judge may take into consideration with a bond decision include family ties, criminal history, mental health, employment, a risk assessment and more.
Crane has his preliminary hearing set for March 5.
