DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A capital murder suspect from Dallas is on the loose Wednesday after he was released from jail and cut off his electronic leg monitor within hours.
It’s led to an urgent fugitive search and raises more questions about the state of our criminal justice system that some people say is too lenient on violent offenders.
A man believed to be involved in the killing of a Dallas restaurant owner has been awaiting trial for nearly three years.
Last week, he was released from jail after he had his bond lowered to just $1,000 and was fitted with an ankle monitor.
Within hours, he got it off and remains on the run.
Court documents obtained by CBS 11 News reveal that James William Moore is accused of “…acting as a ‘good eye’ and then becoming the get-a-way driver…” during the September 2019 robbery murder at Cafe Delicious on South Lamar in Dallas.
Restaurant Owner Brian Harp Sr. was shot and killed while shielding one of his employees after a group of four men with a gun entered and opened fire.
“I feel really bad about it because he was a friend of mine,” said Glen Larremore, a friend of the victim. “I consider him a friend. If I felt like he deserve better than that.”
Larremore knew the victim and was relieved to see arrests made.
But now Moore, one of the accused awaiting trial, has escaped after getting his bond lowered last week from $500,000 to just a $1,000.
He was released on June 17 from the Dallas County Jail.
Documents say “on 6/18/2022 at 1:21 am, a ‘Tamper’ alert registered from the defendant’s GPS monitoring device Indicating that the monitor may have been removed from his leg without authorization. All attempts to contact the defendant have been unsuccessful. As of this writing, the defendant’s whereabouts are unknown.”
The Dallas Police Association says it’s another example of a disturbing pattern in the court system.
“They know good and well they’re going to make that thousand dollar bond, they know good and well they are going to get home and reoffend, but they don’t care about the families that are wrecked they don’t care about the victims,” Sergeant Michael Mata with the Dallas Police Association said.
Records also show that Moore wasn’t even that his assigned residence when he took the monitor off.
A motion has been filed to revoke his bond calling Moore
“…a threat to the peace and safety of the community.”
We tried to get answers about why a man accused of the most serious violent crime would have his bond reduced so dramatically and be given house arrest.
The bond was lowered to $1,000 in the court of 194th District Judge Ernest White whose office did not respond to our messages.
The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office declined to our answer questions saying “…we have no comment as this is a pending case.”
“I just hope they get them back in custody,” Larremore said. “I don’t feel like he needs to be out here. I don’t feel like you should I got out on no monitor.”
A law enforcement officer who spoke with CBS 11 describes Moore as “dangerous as hell.”
* Article from: CBS News
