Suspected child-killer’s bond is reduced

YOUNGSTOWN — Judge John M. Durkin has granted a defense motion to reduce the bond of a suspect in the killing of a baby from $150,000 to $75,000 while the prosecution appeals the suppression of the suspect’s confession to the Ohio Supreme Court.

In a hearing this afternoon, the Mahoning County Common Pleas judge reduced the bond of Terrance Tate, 23, of Hilton Avenue. Tate, who faces the death penalty, is jailed on an aggravated murder charge in what police said was the beating death of Javonte Covington on his first birthday in April 2006.

The bond reduction was granted after the 7th District Court of Appeals upheld Judge Durkin’s exclusion from evidence of a confession Tate made to city police. The appellate court ruled the police improperly failed to warn Tate of his right to remain silent before questioning him while he was in their custody.

If Tate makes bond, he will be released on electronic home monitoring and be in the custody of a designated person; he is to have no contact with the baby’s family or any witnesses in this case; and he won’t be permitted to leave Mahoning County without the court’s prior permission, the judge said.

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