A Houston teenager accused of paralyzing a woman has had his bail significantly reduced by a judge.
According to ABC 13, Joseph Harrell was arrested for robbery after he allegedly followed a woman for 24 miles and slammed her to the ground before taking her money. Initially, Harrell’s bail was set at $200,000. However, he was released on $100,000.
”While on bond for Unlawful Carrying a Handgun, [Harrell] stole money from and assaulted the [victim], causing the [victim] broken ribs, a fractured spine, and paralysis from below the arms, which is serious bodily injury,” prosecutors wrote, according to Fox News.
Despite the prosecutors’ plea, Judge Kristin Guiney lowered Harrell’s bail to $100,000.
“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,” Catherine Evans, Harrell’s lawyer, said to Fox News. “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.”
ABC 13 also reports that Harrell was the only person caught on video, but police also charged Zy’Nika Woods with robbery.
According to ABC 13, Woods was accused of being the getaway driver. ABC 13 also reported that Woods also drove the car that followed the victim, Nhung Truong, to the bank.
Truong suffered a fractured spine, broken ribs and is paralyzed from the waist down.
While some Houston natives believe the crime is increasing, Houston officials claim otherwise.
Houstonpublicmedia.org reported that, according to the the Houston Police department, “the latest crime analysis for last year shows overall violent crime was down 8% and the murder rate was down 9% compared to 2021.”
Let’s see how the rest of the year goes in Houston.