Outrage after Monte Henderson, St Louis, Missouri driver is freed on bond after running a red light and killing mom & daughter. Victims id as Laticha Bracero and Alyssa Cordova.
Did a judge make a bad call…? A 22-year-old St Louis, Missouri man accused of speeding through a red light and killing a mother and a daughter as they were leaving a Drake concert was released on bond, court documents show.
Monte Henderson was released from jail Friday morning after posting $20,000, which was 10% of his $200,000 bail, according to court records.
Police said Henderson was arrested on two counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter charges and and two counts of armed criminal action in connection to the deaths of Laticha ‘Lety’ Bracero, 42, and Alyssa Cordova, 21, of Chicago, Illinois.
Probable cause stated speeding driver was a danger to the community
Two other teen girls and a 61-year-old woman were also injured in the crash, which saw Henderson collide with several other vehicles as he blew through the lights on February 14.
Police say the motorist was speeding at over 70mph when he plowed into his victims.
The crash was captured on surveillance footage and shows Henderson speeding through the intersection in a Jeep Grand Cherokee before hitting another car and plowing into the women as they were crossing an intersection.
In his charging documents, St Louis police officer Matthew Wieczorek argued that Henderson should remain in custody as he was believed to be a danger to the community and would likely not appear for a summons.
Despite speeding and driving through a red light, Judge Annette Llewellyn overlooked a probable cause statement arguing Henderson is a danger to the community, allowing the motorist to be freed on a $20,000 bail, according to STL Today.
Defining accountability
Henderson’s bail sparked outrage online after footage of the crash went viral.
Reported court records showed he was freed two days later after posting the requisite $20,000 (10 percent of his $200,000 bond).
Leading into the crash, Henderson was travelling at a high rate of speed before initially colliding with the front bumper of another car, which led him to careen into Bracero and Cordova as they were crossing a street.
Bracero was pronounced dead at the scene, and Cordova died shortly after being rushed to hospital, police said.
Henderson was also hospitalized in the crash and was listed as being in critical condition at the time.
After the charges were brought, Henderson’s attorney said in a statement: ‘This is a very tragic accident, Monte is very upstanding young man; involved in academics and sports.’
In response, St Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy told the St Louis Business Journal: ‘He’s going to be held accountable. He destroyed families, killed two people.’
Presiding judge comes under scrutiny
Judge Llewellyn previously faced backlash in 2018 after sentencing a woman to only two years’ probation, when one of her daughters fatally shot their sibling when she left a loaded gun out and passed out on drugs, reported STL Today.
She also faced scrutiny after allowing a man accused of domestic assault against his wife out on 10 percent of a $20,000 bond in February 2022, reported KSDK.
A GoFundMe account that was set up by Bracero’s and Cordova’s loved ones noted the mother and daughter often went to concerts together and attended a Drake show shortly before they were killed.
‘The family is extremely devastated by this horrific tragedy,’ according to the GoFundMe, which also noted ‘the two were inseparable and shared a strong bond.’
