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Man initially held on $4 billion bond freed on reduced bond

BELTON, Texas – A murder suspect who had been booked into a Central Texas jail with bond initially set at $4 billion bond has been released after he posted a reduced bond of $151,000.

The Bell County Sheriff’s Office says Antonio Marquis Willis of Killeen was released Monday afternoon.

Bell County Justice of the Peace Claudia Brown said Friday that she set the multibillion-dollar bond as a protest to exorbitant bonds, which she said force too many people to remain in jail until trial.

A state district judge lowered the bond to $151,000 on Friday. Brown had acknowledged her bond amount could be seen as a constitutional violation.

Willis is charged with first-degree murder in the Dec. 22 shooting death of Donte Samuels in Killeen.

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