The teen who admitted to killing a Clayton County sheriff’s deputy in July can get out on bond, according to a Georgia law.
Jonathan Bun allegedly shot Deputy Richard “Rick” Daly during an attempted fugitive arrest in July. But despite having his bond denied by a Clayton County Superior Court judge, the Clayton County District Attorney’s office failed to indict him within the 90 days needed to keep him in jail as required by law, according to attorney Lloyd Matthew.
Matthews on Wednesday filed a motion in Clayton County Superior Court to allow his 17-year-old client to be eligible for bail.
“If you’ve been held for longer than 90 days and your case has not been indicted, and you have no bond, your case is entitled to a bond,” Matthews told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
And the deadline expired on Oct. 17.
District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson recused herself from the case because she was a juvenile judge who presided over Bun’s cases as a youth. But chief Assistant District Attorney Erman Tanjuatco said prosecutors were waiting for investigative reports from the GBI.
“Ethically, we’re bound by looking at the reports, looking at the evidence before we make any charging documents,” Tanjuatco said.
GBI spokesman John Bankhead, however, called that thinking “weird.”
“We really don’t know why they’re waiting for the GBI report because he confessed,” Bankhead told the AJC. “They can present it to a grand jury without a GBI file.”
Specifically, the law is a Georgia criminal procedure code dealing with indictments.
“In the event no grand jury considers the charges against the accused person within the 90 day period of confinement or within the extended period of confinement where such an extension is granted by the court, the accused shall have bail set upon application to the court,” the law states.
Clayton County Sheriff Kem Kimbrough, himself a lawyer, applauded Matthews for doing whatever it takes to save his client but said no one on his staff wants to see Bun go free.
“I’m not concerned about that,” Kimbrough said, pointing to Bun’s lengthy criminal history and the teen’s admission to shooting Daly.
“There’s already enough evidence in the record to demonstrate that Jonathan Bun is a dangerous guy. He should not be allowed to walk the streets free pending trial,” the sheriff said.
But at least one legal expert says the defense attorney's argument has merit.
“The defense attorney may be onto something,” UGA law professor Ronald Carlson said. “It seems to me that the defendant is in a favorable position to invoke the 90-day statute.”
The one rule that could halt this decision doesn’t apply in this case, Carlson said.
“The only exception is capital [punishment] cases where the judge extends the period for an extra 90 days,” Carlson said. “And because of the defendant’s age, I don’t think this is a death sentence case.”
On the day of the July 20 shooting, Daly was tasked to initiate a traffic stop with other sheriff’s deputies to arrest Bun on a warrant for a 2010 armed robbery.
Bun allegedly shot at Daly as the deputy approached the car, hitting the 55-year-old lawman just below his protective vest. Bun then fled into a nearby wooded area, leading to an eight-hour manhunt.
Now, a hearing should be scheduled to set Bun’s bond, his attorney says. Tanjuatco, however, just may head off that hearing.
“We’ve set a grand jury hearing next week,” he said.
Both Carlson and Matthews wondered aloud, however, just how well this plan will work.
“The severity of the crime is going to play a heavy duty role in the judge likely setting a substantial amount,” Carlson said. “The prospects for a low bail seem dim.”
Matthews placed his best guess at the bond a judge might set.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if bond was set at half a million dollars,” he said.
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