In December 2016, Antonio Marquis Willis, 25, was accused of the murder of Donte Samuels in Killeen, Texas. According to police, Willis came to the home of Samuels three times screaming and making threats. When Samuels told Willis to leave his property, he was shot and Willis fled the scene.
Willis turned himself in to police on the outstanding warrant accusing him of the murder and appeared in court before Bell County Justice of the Peace Claudia Brown. Bell set the bond for Willis at a staggering $4B, an amount so high that the court computer is only able to list the amount at $999,999,999.00 since the system can only compute nine numbers.
Brown took the surprising move of addressing her decision on the bond amount to Facebook. She posted, ” Enough is enough… so you use a number sooooo big that a broken system can not even compute it. I will be a fool alllll day long, if it shakes up a broken system to the point where it begins to become more humane. Prevention and rehabilitation are not just buzz words.”
It should be noted that Brown was elected to her office in November 2016. She has yet to complete the required training for her position. An attorney for Willis has stated that he intends to try to get the bond amount reduced.
Other lawyers in the county include Jeff Parker, who says the $4B bond could be challenged as unconstitutional and a judicial complaint should be filed.
Bell County Deputy Chief Chuck Cox said he’s never heard of such a high bond in the Bell County Jail. The previous highest bond Cox remembers set in the jail by a justice of the peace was $1M
