A teenager charged in the stabbing death of a Texas track athlete has been released from jail on bond this week.
Karmelo Anthony, 17, was released from jail on a reduced bond on April 14, according to court records and Mike Howard, Anthony’s newly-hired defense attorney.
The teen’s bond was originally set for $1 million, former counsel for the teen confirmed. Lawyers filed to have it reduced to $150,000.
Anthony’s bond was ultimately reduced to $250,000, according to court records and Howard. The teen has been issued an electronic monitor and will remain on house arrest, only leaving with court approval, court records say.
Anthony must also be supervised by a parent or adult at all times, and can’t have contact with the victim’s family. He also has to check in with court bailiffs every Friday, court records show.
Howard said that Anthony is now back home with his family.
“Karmelo and the entire Anthony family look forward to some quiet time together,” his lawyer wrote. “They ask for space and time for the full investigation by both sides to play out fairly.”
Anthony was charged with murder in connection to the April 2 stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, according to Frisco police and an arrest warrant affidavit.
‘The police and prosecution want to get it right’
Since the killing on April 2, Anthony’s family has created a fundraiser through the platform GiveSendGo, raising over $431,000 of its $500,000 goal as of April 15.
“The narrative being spread is false, unjust, and harmful,” his family wrote in the GiveSendGo fundraiser description. “As a family of faith, we are deeply grateful for all of your support during this trying period. Your prayers and assistance mean more to us now more than ever.”
The Next Generation Action Network, a civil rights organization in north Texas, has spoken out in support of the Anthony family and said on April 8 that there have been “escalating racist threats and bigotry directed at the Anthony family.”
“Their personal address has been exposed,” Minister Dominique Alexander, president of the civil rights organization, said during a news conference last week. “This justice must be fair and impartial, and protected from biases. We do not pull the race card. We live it.”
Howard said threats aren’t good for either family involved so he asked the public to allow “the temperature on this” to “come down.
The judge who released Anthony on bond took into consideration his age, his clean record, and whether he was a flight risk.
Anthony’s father testified at his bond hearing on April 14, adding that his son has never been in trouble and he does not have a passport. His father said friends and family would make sure Anthony stayed on the right path.
When reporters asked Howard this week why his client had a knife at the track meet that day, he said it’s a valid question but the team wasn’t ready to answer it.
“The police and prosecution want to get it right and want to have a full and fair investigation, and so do we,” Howard said. “It would be irresponsible for me, or them, at this point to start saying, ‘This is what happened.’”
The killing happened the morning of April 2 during a track meet at Frisco Independent School District’s Kuykendall Stadium.
Metcalf was a student at Memorial High School and was participating in a track meet that day, police said. A witness called for help around 10 a.m. about an altercation between the two teens in which Metcalf was stabbed. First responders tried to save Metcalf but he was eventually pronounced dead, police said.
A school resource officer was the first to arrive. The officer recalled telling Anthony to put his hands up, to which the teen allegedly replied “I was protecting myself.” Anthony said Metcalf put his hands on him, admitted to stabbing Metcalf, and asked “Is he going to be OK?”
During the investigation, one witness said he was sitting under a Memorial High School tent with the team and Metcalf and Anthony were sitting nearby, according to the affidavit. Anthony, who was not a member of the team, was sitting under the team’s tent. That’s when Metcalf told Anthony he needed to move, the witness told authorities, per the court document.
“Anthony grabbed his bag, opened it and reached inside and proceeded to tell (Metcalf) ‘Touch me and see what happens,’” the affidavit read.
Metcalf then touched Anthony, who told Metcalf to punch him and see what happens, according to the witness. Metcalf grabbed Anthony and again told him to get from under the team’s tent, then Anthony pulled out a knife and stabbed Metcalf once in the chest before running away, the witness said.
Metcalf grabbed at his chest and told people to get help, per the affidavit. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
