Bond reduced for 5th Richmond Hill suspect
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Bond was reduced Friday from $100,000 to $50,000 for Glenn Hults, the so-called fifth suspect in the 2012 south side explosion at Richmond Hill.
Hults, 48, was charged earlier this month with one felony count of conspiracy to commit arson.
Prosecutors allege that Hults was part of a conspiracy behind the explosion in the Richmond Hill neighborhood that killed Dion and Jennifer Longworth and damaged nearly 80 homes in November 2012.
As he walked back to jail following a brief bond reduction hearing Friday, Hults didn’t answer questions about whether he could afford to put up the reduced bond amount.
But, he did speak to 24-Hour News 8 for the first time.
“All I can say is I miss my wife and kids,” Hults said quietly, handcuffed to a line of other inmates headed back to the jail.
Hults attorney, Ralph Staples, asked the judge for the advisory bond amount tied to his single felony charge: $20,000. But, after court adjourned, Staples said reducing the bond by half was a fair compromise.
“It’s pursuant to the local rule. So, not a surprise. We don’t know (if his family will be able to post that amount). We’re working on that right now,” Staples said.
In court, Staples argued that Hults’ original bond amount was unnecessarily high for someone who has maintained a home in Marion County for more than 15 years, and who has held a job during that entire time. Hults’ conviction on a misdemeanor battery charge in 2005 should be weighed against the fact that he was successfully discharged from probation just four months later, Staples told the Judge.
Prosecutors countered by asking Judge Sheila Carlisle to set a bond “appropriate to the nature of this case.”
Following the hearing, Deputy Prosecutor Denise Robinson said she had no problem with the judge’s decision.
“Bond is to insure a defendant’s appearance at trial. It’s not intended to reflect on anyone’s guilt or innocence. That’s its sole purpose. And, I believe the judge fairly weighed all factors,” Robinson said.
If Hults posts bond, he must agree to wear a GPS monitoring device while awaiting trial. Jail records showed he was still incarcerated Friday afternoon.
“Assuming our client makes bond, there will likely be a delay [in his scheduled June 15 trial date]. If his family is unable to come up with that money, then we’re looking at a June trial date. We’ll be ready either way. The allegations against him aren’t all that complicated. It’s the others who have those issues. As I’ve said before, he’s accused of having a conversation with someone,” Staples said.
Meanwhile, focus for prosecutors shifts to South Bend, where Hults co-defendant Mark Leonard’s trial is scheduled to begin on June 6.
Though Robinson acknowledged she has plenty of planning work ahead, she said that date is unlikely to change.
“We still have lots to do: making sure witnesses are subpoenaed, making sure they have transportation arrangements, meeting with those witnesses,” Robinson said. “Just the magnitude of lining up that sheer number of witnesses (is monumental). We have to line them up and then get them up to South Bend. Then, we still have the mechanics of getting the evidence up there and that sort of thing too. But, we’re ready to go.”
Hults is scheduled to appear in court again for a pre-trial hearing on June 10.
