This story was posted on: 3:45 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 08, 2017.
The lawyer for Jameis Slaughter, Markeith Loyd's ex-girlfriend, said she is not a threat to society after she bonded out of the Orange County Jail late Tuesday night.
- Jameis Slaughter's lawyer says she is not a flight risk
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The State Attorney's Office agreed to lower Slaughter's bond from $500,000 to $25,000 on Tuesday morning.
Slaughter is charged with accessory after Loyd allegedly shot and killed his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon, and for giving investigators a false name when they questioned her. But Slaughter's attorney, Susan Malove, said her client was not a danger to society or a flight risk.
Criminal defense attorney Mark NeJame said now that the state attorney has had more time to see all the evidence in the case, it is not unusual for the bond to change.
"Even though some of the public is going to say that is a horrible crime (and think) 'I don't care if they do any little thing to have helped them, they should stay in jail,' that is not the purpose. That is for sentencing, not for a bond determination," NeJame said.
Slaughter is one of three people originally arrested for aiding Loyd before his arrest. Loyd is also accused of killing Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton and is being charged with other violent crimes.
Loyd's niece, Lakensha Smith-Loyd, was released from jail last week after her bond was lowered. The state dropped the charges against her Tuesday because of insufficient evidence.
Meanwhile, Loyd's former boss, Zarghee Mayan, was released from jail Wednesday. In court last week, the judge refused to lower his bond. However, this week prosecutors agreed to lower it from $400,000 to $20,000. The court approved Mayan's bond reduction Wednesday.
NeJame said many factors could have played into why the three bonds were high.
"It is entirely possible that the first bond was requested to put the squeeze on the other defendants to disclose where he (Loyd) may be," NeJame said.
The judge said now that Slaughter is out of jail, she must remain in the area until her next court date, and she cannot have contact with any of the other defendants connected in the case.