Busted In Acadiana

A Carencro mans legal troubles may open up a can worms in the Acadiana area.

According a Facebook account claiming to be Brian Gallagher – (possible Attorney, possible Troll), “Kyle James Toups has bonded out of St Landry Parish Jail on a $30,000 bail and the Judiciary Commission opened up an investigation of St Landry Parish Judges for denying bail.”

If you recall, late last year Toups bonded out of the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center on second degree murder charges as a result of an incident in downtown Lafayette that claimed the life of Luke Darby.

A short time later Toups was arrested and charged with aggravated battery as a result of an incident from 2011 in St. Landry Parish.

According to court records, the aggravated battery arrest resulted from the July 2011 fight in Cankton where witnesses told authorities that Toups struck the victim with his vehicle.

For whatever reason, Toups was denied bond in St. Landry Parish which is a possible violation of his constitution rights resulting in complaints being filed with the Judiciary Commision.

If you remember, earlier this year, we reported that a Lafayette Parish Grand Jury failed to indict Toups on second degree murder charges leading to questions whether Toups was actually defending himself against Darby. Suspects generally NEVERRRRRRRRRRRR get the opportuntuy to testify in Grand Jury proceedings.

We’re told video evidence was played for the Lafayette Parish Grand Jury from Agave and the public parking tower which clearly shows Mr. Toups defending his brother which brings into question why Toups was ever arrested and charged with second degree murder in the first place.

So how is bail determined?

According to Expert Bail, a judge or magistrate normally sets the amount of bail for each defendant. They will consider many things in this process including the nature and seriousness of the charges, the weight of the evidence, the defendants character and history as well as other factors to determined the overall potential flight risk of the defendant. Additionally, many states and counties also have what is called a bail schedule, which is a set of guidelines comprised of bail amounts and ranges for specific crimes. In addition to the factors listed above, judges very often utilize these schedules to assist them in determining the appropriate bail amount.

A defendant is usually entitled to bail. However, courts have power to deny bail to protect the community. The Bail Reform Act of 1984 (Act) allows federal courts to deny bail to a defendant who presents a danger to any person or the community.