LITTLE ROCK, AR - The man accused of killing two 15-year olds in a high-speed
hit & run accident Friday will likely remain in jail after a judge set a $500,000 bond Tuesday. The families of both boys tell FOX16 News they are one step closer to getting justice for their loved ones.
Families of 15-year olds Blake Cooney and Jimmy Bullock filled Little Rock District Court on Tuesday see the man accused of killing their loved ones appear on a video monitor.
Defense attorneys for Kevin Shelton, 24, requested a FOX16 camera be removed from the hearing where Little Rock District Judge Alice Lightle set Shelton's bond at $500,000.
Cooney’s great-grandmother Lucille Robinson arrived at the scene minutes after the accident Friday and was in court today.
"We are pleased with the bond that she set,” Robinson says. “That means he'll never get out, he never needs to get out."
Police say Shelton admitted to using "sherm", a marijuana joint dipped in PCP, speeding down Roosevelt and striking and killing both friends. And what angers Cooney’s uncle Isreal Johnson even more, Shelton ran from the scene.
"Had it not been by the grace of God a lady was there that kept eyes on him until the police came he would have gotten away, he probably would have gotten away," Johnson says.
Laverne Taylor says Jimmy Bullock was her only son.
"I’m pleased that he has a bond set that he's not going to be able to walk the streets after killing two 15 year olds,” Taylor says. “They still had a whole lot to live for and he took it away from us."
But now Shelton, charged with 2 counts of negligent homicide, will likely sit in jail until his trial.
"This is my nephew,” Johnson said while holding a t-shirt with Cooney’s picture on it. “We got to bury him…fifteen…I put his first toys together and I'm never going to see him again."
Shelton also faces charges for leaving the scene of an accident with injuries and fleeing.
His next court date is set for August 1.
