Austin crime: Judge raises murder suspect's bond after it was dropped from $800K to $100
Travis Co. DA scolded by judge for missing deadline
A 20-year Travis County prosecutor has resigned following the frenzy of a missed deadline and a murder suspect getting out of jail on a $100 bond. The suspect is now back in jail after a judge ruled to increase the bond.
AUSTIN, Texas - A Travis County judge has increased the bond for a 19-year-old man accused of first-degree murder.
Stephon Morson's bond was previously reduced from $800,000 to just $100 with certain conditions after the Travis County District Attorney's office failed to meet a 90-day deadline to get the case to a grand jury.
The prosecutor who was in charge of the case has also resigned.
What we know:
Judge Chantal Eldridge of the 331st District Court said Wednesday she is going to increase Morson's bond "because of the potential safety threat to the defendants' family and the community at large."
The judge has increased Morson's bond to $100,000 with additional conditions that he cannot have a firearm or be around firearms. The existing conditions of the $100 bond are also still in effect.
In court, the judge looked directly at the state and said, "Please do not allow the 90 days to lapse ever again."
Morson's defense attorney on the bond increase
What they're saying:
Morson's attorney said this leaves the door open for people to be left in jail indefinitely and shows it's up to the defense to pay attention to the calendar.
"You can't hold people indefinitely, there has to be a mechanism, and that mechanism is an indictment, and if they don't present one, clearly they don't care or they're negligent about the handling of their cases," attorney Brian Erskine said.
He said this is a violation of Morson's 5th and 6th amendment rights.
"I do believe that this is, in fact, a show to try to move the fault of their office from their failure to indict over on to the judge, putting the onus on her to make a difficult decision and essentially just absolving themselves of their malfeasance," Erskine said.
DA Jose Garza speaks on the case
What they're saying:
Travis County DA Jose Garza spoke with FOX 7 Austin's CrimeWatch reporter Meredith Aldis about the case.
The judge has said she didn’t want to release Morson, however, she didn’t have any discretion.
"The judge in this case had the tools to keep our community safe and failed to use those tools," Garza said.
"Why though not an indictment within 90 days, that's the first problem that then snowballs," Aldis asked.
"Again, the law is clear that judges have the authority to address community safety and set a bail once the indictment has been returned," Garza said.
"But the indictment wasn’t returned," Aldis said.
"No, that's not true, in this case the indictment was returned prior to the court's hearing on the motion to reduce bail," Garza said.
"But not in 90 days," Aldis said.
"Correct, but the statute doesn't say, the law doesn't say that if you're not indicted within 90 days you must be released no matter what," Garza said.
Garza also commented on the status of the 20-year Travis County prosecutor who was originally on the case.
"Was this prosecutor fired?" Aldis asked Garza.
"So we noticed problems with this prosecutor's case, we took immediate action and without notice the prosecutor resigned the following day," Garza responded.
Keshawn Cage's family speaks
What they're saying:
"We're grateful that he's back in custody," Keshawn Cage’s girlfriend Dajah Elliot said.
"If you can take a life, you don't deserve to walk the streets freely," she said.
"I really hope that this doesn't happen again because the way that it's putting me and my family through the wringer, I will pray that it will never happen to anyone else," Elliott said.
The backstory:
Stephon Morson is accused of shooting Keshawn Cage in October 2024.
Police said it happened at an apartment complex on Burton Drive in Southeast Austin and Morson’s hoodie, shoes, and the gun investigators believe was used that night were found about 500 yards away.
Court documents said a witness told detectives Morson and another person were arguing with Cage, calling Cage a snitch, claiming he worked with law enforcement and got another man locked up. The arrest affidavit said the witness identified Morson as the shooter.
Stephon Morson (Austin Police Department)
Morson was arrested on November 6, 2024, for murder and tampering with evidence. His bail was set at $800,000.
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 doesn’t present the trial to a grand jury within 90 days.
The state didn’t present these cases to a grand jury until day 91. The same day, Morson’s attorney asked the judge to let his client out.
Last week, the parties met to discuss the possibility of Morson’s bail being reduced. The District Attorney claimed they told the court about their concerns if Morson was released. They said on social media he was potentially bragging about the murder, showing violence, they said Cage’s family had concerns, and an anonymous tip said Morson intended to flee if he got out.
The judge set the bail at $100 and ordered no contact with the victims’ family or witnesses, a GPS monitoring system, no travel, and no social media.
What's next:
Morson’s defense attorney said they are looking into options to appeal this decision. Morson has a pre-trial hearing on March 28.
The Source: Information in this report comes from reporting by FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis and Travis County court records.