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Family dissatisfied with reduced bond
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Judge John Durkin listens to testimony - Terrance Tate, whose confession was suppressed by the 7th District Court of Appeals, 8:30 a.m. The prosecution is appealing the suppression to the Ohio Supreme Court. Tate faces the death penalty.
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Terrance Tate, of Youngstown.
Tate will be under strict conditions if he makes bond, the judge said.
YOUNGSTOWN — Members of Javonte Covington’s family expressed disappointment after a judge halved the bond for the man police say beat Javonte to death on his first birthday.
“I think it’s not fair. He should not get out,” said Lyteja Harris of Youngstown, Javonte’s great aunt. “Why should he even have the privilege of being out? Let him sit in jail.”
“I believe in my heart we have a case, and God, to me, is my final judge,” she said, predicting that the suspect, Terrance Tate, will be convicted of the slaying.
“I’m not satisfied at all, and we’re going to still pursue this,” said Acquinetta Jackson of Campbell, Javonte’s grandmother. “We have a case because there is more evidence, and it’s coming. They just don’t know about it yet.”
On Tuesday, Judge John M. Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court granted a defense motion to reduce Tate’s bond from $150,000 to $75,000 while the prosecution appeals the suppression of Tate’s confession to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Tate, 23, of Hilton Avenue, has been jailed for more than two years on an aggravated murder charge and faces the death penalty in the April 2006 death of the baby.
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 the case; and he won’t be permitted to leave Mahoning County without the court’s permission, the judge said.
The judge overruled an oral motion by Martin P. Desmond, assistant county prosecutor, to raise the bond from $150,000 to $1 million. A $150,000 amount “reflects the bond for a felonious assault — not for a death-penalty case,” Desmond said.
“If we let the defendant out now on bond, he’s not going to be here for the next hearing. This bond is unreasonably low,” Desmond argued. “What’s the purpose for him to stay around if he’s facing the death penalty?”
Tate’s lawyer, John B. Juhasz, argued, however, that the evidence against Tate is scant.
Juhasz also said Tate is not a flight risk because he has lived in Youngstown for 10 years, has no history of failing to appear in court, has only one misdemeanor charge on his record, has no other pending criminal charges, and is not on probation or parole.
“There is no evidence that Mr. Tate has or would give flight to avoid criminal prosecution,” he said. “The bail rules are not to be used as a toy so that the state can keep the defendant in jail.”
Although the baby’s death is tragic, Judge Durkin said: “My oath of office requires that I not be subject to public clamor. ... My job is to listen to the facts and to rule following the law and the Constitution, and that’s what I did.”
Unfortunately, the judge said the city police didn’t follow the Constitution when they questioned Tate. The judge also noted that the prosecution said in its appeal of the suppression that it had no case without the confession.
“This is not a country where someone should be held in lieu of bond until they prove that they’re innocent. It’s just the opposite,” Judge Durkin said.
Last week, Judge Durkin ordered that Tate remain jailed under $150,000 bond during the prosecution’s appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court. Tuesday’s hearing was in response to a written motion the defense filed after last week’s hearing.
Based on notes in his case file, Desmond erroneously told The Vindicator after last week’s hearing that Tate’s bond was then $1 million.
Security was tight for Tuesday’s hearing, with Sgt. Thomas DeGenova and six deputy sheriffs guarding the courtroom.