Suspected Killer Free on Bond After Car Hit Mother and Daughter as They Left Drake Concert
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
A Missouri man was free on bail days after being charged with manslaughter in a collision that killed two women.
Laticha Bracero, 42, and her daughter Alyssa Cordova, 21, of Chicago were killed on Feb. 14 after leaving a Drake concert in St. Louis when a vehicle smashed into them as they were crossing a street, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Monte Henderson, 22, was charged with two counts each of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action on Feb. 15 after police said he was driving a vehicle that surveillance video showed was going against the traffic light.
Three other people were injured in the crash. Several vehicles were also damaged.
Video of Bracero and Cordova being struck was shared on social media.
Henderson posted 10 percent of his $200,000 bond on Feb. 16 and was released from custody, according to the Post-Dispatch.
A probable cause statement from St. Louis Police Officer Matthew Wieczorek said he believed Henderson represented a danger to the community and would not appear on a summons.
Judge Annette Llewellyn set bail instead.
The judge, a former public defender, was one of the first hires of then-St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner in 2017, according to the Post-Dispatch. The prosecutor resigned under pressure from state lawmakers in May.
Organizations linked to far-left billionaire George Soros had given Gardner’s campaigns at least $150,000, the Washington Examiner reported last year.
The judge that released Henderson on bond: https://t.co/Un6ewaaJ2h
— Dapper Detective (@Dapper_Det) February 26, 2024
Court documents said the Jeep that struck the Chicago women on Feb. 14 was going 70 mph before the collision, according to KSDK-TV in St. Louis.
“This is a very tragic accident,” Henderson’s attorney said in a statement to the outlet. “Monte is very upstanding young man; involved in academics and sports.”
Cousin Nicole Rivera said Bracero and Cordova went to concerts often.
“If I’m being honest, the only way I can try to get through it is knowing that they were together because if either one of them made it, they wouldn’t have survived without the other. We want them here more than anything but if we can’t have that, of course, we want justice,” she told KSDK.
In a statement in response to Henderson being set free, Rivera said, “My family is not being allowed time to grieve and we haven’t even figured out how to bring Lety and Alyssa home yet and we are at a loss as to how a man can take 2 lives and be out on bond 2 days later able to sit at home with his family.”
“We have MANY questions and demand answers,” she continued. “The police department has failed to reach out to us and the states attorneys office has provided inaccurate information. This man should NOT have been able to go home after ONLY 2 days and he took 2 lives.
“We don’t know if he had a driver’s license, we don’t know if he was under the influence, we don’t know his criminal history, we don’t know if he’s a flight risk, we don’t know if he had vehicle insurance.
“My family demands accountability from everyone everywhere. The driver, the police department, the states attorneys office, the venue, traffic control etc.”
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