Bond has been granted for the teenager accused of murdering a rabbi during an attempted robbery in North Miami Beach.
15-year-old DeAndre Charles has been charged with murder in the August 2014 shooting death of Rabbi Joseph Raksin, 60. A judge granted his bond on Wednesday.
A witness claimed to have seen Charles running away from the scene of the shooting. However, both Charles and his mother insist he was at home at the time of the murder.
Miami-Dade Police said Raksin was walking in the 800 block of Northeast 175th Street and headed to his North Miami Beach temple when he was approached by two young men.
Raksin was shot during that encounter, and was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he later died.
Defense attorneys insisted there isn't enough evidence to hold Charles in the case. His trial is expected to begin in April.
"A murder case is serious. To get a bond on a homicide case, it shows the weakness in the case," said Adam Goodman, Charles' attorney.
His bond was set at $300,000. If released, Charles will be under strict house arrest and his home can be searched at any time without a warrant.
Ed Griffith, spokesperson for the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, released the following statement:
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"From the beginning, we freely admitted that Deandre Charles' arrest was based on the circumstantial evidence pieced together by the investigators who diligently worked on this homicide. While Judge Bloch's order allowing the potential jail release of Deandre Charles is disappointing, it does not lessen the commitment of both the police and prosecutors to obtaining justice for the family of Rabbi Joseph Raksin."
