There was a collective sigh of relief among Mitchel Dang’s dozens of supporters in a courtroom gallery Tuesday morning after a Fulton County Superior Court judge decided not to grant bond to the man charged with the 25-year-old woman’s murder.
“Pretrial detention is governed by very specific rules,” presiding Judge Jane Barwick said. “I will spoil the surprise and explain that the defendant in this case flunks every single one of them, and bond will not be granted.”
The attorney for 24-year-old Ja’Kevious Arnold requested a bond of $220,000 and supervisory conditions that would have included an ankle monitor, but Barwick denied that proposal. Arnold’s bond was previously denied at his preliminary hearing in October.
He has been held in the Fulton jail for more than two months since his arrest on charges related to the killing of Dang, whose naked body was discovered by a security guard in a downtown Atlanta parking deck in late August. She was leaving a music venue when she was attacked, police said.
Arnold was charged with multiple counts, including murder, aggravated sexual assault and necrophilia.
The state prosecutor argued against bond for Arnold by once again pointing out that, in interviews with Atlanta homicide detectives, he indicated he had committed other sexual assaults and possibly another homicide. Those cases are still being investigated in DeKalb County, according to the state attorney.
Arnold’s attorney noted that he remained unindicted after 81 days, but the state prosecutor said the case would be presented to a grand jury before the 90-day legal threshold. The defense also argued that Arnold was indigent and did not have the means to travel. He would be staying with his mother and stepfather if he was released, his attorney said.
Members of the victim’s family, buoyed by a crowd of at least 40 supporters, gave statements for the court.
Mary Dang, Mitchel’s older sister, said the loss had left “a hole in our family.” In a calm and steady voice, she said her family no longer felt safe in their hometown and that their only peace of mind came from the knowledge that Arnold was “behind bars.”
Mitchel’s father, Minh Dang, described his younger daughter as beautiful and trusting, and pointed out that she and the defendant were strangers.
“He would be dangerous to other young girls like my baby,” he said in his statement before the court.
Upon making her decision, Barwick emphasized that the defendant was “cloaked, absolutely, in the presumption of innocence.”
However, Barwick said that case precedent allows the judge to consider the nature of the charges against the defendant, “one of which, in all my years on the bench, I have never seen,” she added.
Arnold, who entered the hearing with a heavily bandaged left wrist and a surgical mask that obscured his face, was returned to the Fulton jail after the hearing. He will remain there until he is either indicted or the prosecution files for an extension. If he reaches the 90-day threshold, Arnold could be automatically granted bond, though the conditions would be set by a judge at that time.
When the hearing was over, Mary Dang said she and her family have been “taking it day by day” since Mitchel’s death. They were touched by the number of supporters who returned to the second court hearing in her sister’s homicide case. The denial of bond was “definitely more than we expected,” she said.
“If any other victims might know him, please step forward,” Minh Dang said about Arnold. “(It would) help our case to be stronger and make the community safer.”
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