Michigan Judge Criticized For Granting Low Bond In Walmart Stabbing Case

A Michigan district court judge was criticized on Monday after setting a $100,000 bond for the man charged with terrorism in a stabbing attack at a Traverse City, Michigan, Walmart over the weekend.

In a video arraignment for suspect James Bradford Gille, Magistrate Tammi Rodgers said Gille has been charged with “heinous” crimes, which include 11 counts of assault with intent to murder. Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg requested that Rodgers set a significant bond due to the seriousness of the charges and Gille’s history of mental illness and previous run-ins with law enforcement, West Michigan ABC affiliate, WZZM 13 reported.

The judge set the bond at $100,000, adding that if he’s able to post bond, he would be barred from using alcohol or any non-prescribed drugs. She also barred him from possessing any weapons or using “any object as a weapon” and said he could not visit any Walmart.

Gille is accused of going on a stabbing rampage near the checkout line at Walmart on Saturday, wounding 11 people before he was stopped by bystanders, including Marine Derrick Perry, who held him at gunpoint in the parking lot until police arrived.

“He was wild-eyed, and he did not look like he was in his right mind. And he was saying, ‘They told me to do it. They told me to do it,” Perry said during an interview with “Good Morning America.”

The $100,000 bond means that Gille only has to come up with $10,000 on his own, but it appears unlikely that he has that money or that he’ll find a bail bondsman willing to work with him, independent journalist Dave Bondy reported.