Austin crime: Judge reduces murder suspect's bond yet again
The Brief
A murder suspect's bond has been reduced yet again this week.
Stephon Morson has been charged with the Oct. 2024 murder of Keshawn Cage.
This is the sixth different bond amount that has been attached to Morson's name regarding this case.
AUSTIN, Texas - A Travis County judge reduced a murder suspect's bond yet again Thursday afternoon.
This comes after the district attorney failed to meet an indictment deadline.
The backstory
Stephon Morson is accused of shooting and killing Keshawn Cage at a South Austin apartment complex in Oct. 2024.
Morson was arrested five days after the murder on a tampering with evidence charge and then bonded out on $15,000.
Two weeks later, he was arrested for Cage's murder and his bond was set at $800,000. He sat in jail for three months without any movement on his case. The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure states a person accused of a felony must be released, or their bail must be reduced if the state isn't ready for trial within 90 days.
Austin crime: Man charged with murder is back in jail after bonding out 3 times
New records show DA had more than a week to move murder case forward before indictment deadline
Austin crime: Judge raises murder suspect's bond after it was dropped from $800K to $100
The Travis County DA's office failed to meet that 90-day deadline, so his bond was reduced to just $100.
The DA's office then requested the bond amount be increased; the judge agreed and Morson was taken back to jail.
What we know
The day Morson was to put the money up to bond out of jail again, the DA's office obtained a new indictment on a retaliation charge. The defense claimed this was vindictive prosecution.
"The irony of the retaliation charge being levied against Mr. Morson is that it was retaliation against Mr. Morson for posting bond," Morson's attorney Brian Erskine said.
The judge asked the state why they decided to pursue the retaliation charge now and not during the sentencing phase. The state responded and said, "Matter of strategy."
The judge said she agreed it appeared the new charge was in retaliation for Morson being out on bond, but did not rule it was prosecutorial vindictiveness.
She said Morson was entitled to a bond reduction though and lowered his bond from $100,000 to $30,000.
This is the sixth different bond amount that has been attached to Morson's name regarding this case.
What they're saying
"I believe that the DA didn't do their job, they had a job to do, they owed it to Keshawn, they owed it to our family to do their jobs. They only to our family to do their jobs, they didn't do their job. "But at the end of the day, the bottom line is this guy should not be free," Keshawn Cage's great-aunt Patricia Muse said.
"I'm just ready to get this over with, I want justice for my son, I mean, it's caused our family a lot of pain and will continue to cause pain," Keshawn Cage's father Kerwyn Cage said.
What's next
The state now claims they have received lab reports indicating the DNA on the weapon and clothing found at the scene has a very strong likelihood it is Morson's.
They plan to file a motion and fight for a bond increase again on April 17.
The Source
Information in this report comes from reporting by FOX 7 Austin's CrimeWatch reporter Meredith Aldis and previous reporting by FOX 7 Austin.
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