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Austin murder suspect back in jail after bonding out from previous arrest

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Published  September 24, 2024 9:34pm CDT
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 7 Austin

Austin murder suspect back in jail after bonding out

An Austin murder suspect is back in custody after he bonded out four days after his arrest earlier this month in connection to a 2021 cold case.

The brief

    • A 22-year-old man accused of murdering another man in 2021 was arrested on Sept. 12.
    • Four days later, the murder suspect was released on bond, despite his lengthy criminal history.
    • On Sept. 24, the murder suspect was arrested again, facing a capital murder charge.

AUSTIN, Texas - An Austin murder suspect is back in custody after he bonded out four days after his arrest earlier this month in connection to a 2021 cold case.

Mithovar Antoine Jr., 22, was arrested in Temple on Thursday, September 12, after the U.S. Marshal's Office issued a first-degree murder warrant for his arrest.

Antoine is accused of stabbing 23-year-old Nikolas Martinez to death in South Austin on July 23, 2021.

He was taken to the Bell County Jail where he bonded out four days later. The bond was set at $150,000 with no conditions, despite his lengthy criminal history.

"Normally, on average, what we have seen in different cases here is we're normally getting $1 million bond on different murder cases," says Austin Police Department Detective Richard Spitler.

Murder suspect released from jail

Mithovar Christopher Antoine Jr. was arrested for a deadly stabbing in South Austin in July 2021. He was arrested last week, and bonded out of jail four days later.

The 22-year-old suspect was expected to be extradited to the Travis County Jail, but he was released, causing a back-and-forth between law enforcement agencies on the appropriate course of action.

"I was surprised as well. I believe a lot of other people did. You know, this was a $150,000 bond," says Spitler.

FOX 7 spoke with a local attorney who weighed in on the suspect being released last week.

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Mithovar Christopher Antoine Jr.

"I’ve had law enforcement pick up the phone to the DA's office and say 'I just arrested Gene Anthes, and he's on probation in your county for ABC.' You need to get a motion revoke filed as quickly as you can so that another warrant can be held on him," says Managing Partner for GBA firm, Gene Anthes.

According to Travis County Jail records, Antoine was back in police custody on Tuesday, Sept. 24, facing charges of capital murder by terror threat. 

He was booked in the jail around 2 p.m. and has a $10 million bond.

FOX 7 Austin reached out to the Travis County District Attorney's Office to confirm if the recent charge and arrest are related to Martinez’s death, and are waiting to hear back.

The source

  • Information for this report was from the Austin Police Department, U.S. Marshal's Office, and interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin reporter Tan Radford.