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Bond review scheduled in Glenwood Springs stabbing ahead of defendant’s 18th birthday

A juvenile defendant charged as an adult for attempted murder in a March 8 stabbing incident at a south Glenwood Springs home had his first hearing in adult court Thursday.

The next step before Angel Rivas Tellez turns 18 on May 13 will be to review a $250,000 bond that was set last month when the 9th District Attorney’s Office charged him as an adult and refiled his case in Garfield County District Court.

Once Tellez turns 18, he will have to be transferred from the Grand Mesa Youth Detention Center to the Garfield County Jail, unless he is able to make bond, public defender Elise Myer told District Judge James Boyd at the Thursday hearing.



Boyd agreed to set a bond review hearing ahead of that key date, the afternoon of April 22.

At a March 23 juvenile court hearing, Myer requested a much lower bond of $15,000-$20,000.




Myer also anticipates requesting what’s called a reverse-transfer hearing, where the judge would be asked to determine if the case should be moved back to juvenile court.

That’s unlikely to occur until a clinical psychologist can evaluate Tellez and provide a report. The earliest that could happen is June 9, Myer said.

In the meantime, she said she is still reviewing discovery from the police investigation in the case, including body camera footage and medical records of the alleged victim.

Tellez faces felony charges of attempted murder and burglary for allegedly breaking into the victim’s home using a crowbar on a basement window around 2 a.m. March 8, going to the man’s bedroom and stabbing him “at least 30 times” before fleeing the scene, according to an account provided by Deputy District Attorney Tony Hershey at the March court hearing.

The victim was transported to an area hospital and survived his injuries.

At the Thursday hearing, Hershey asked that a protection order in place for the victims in the case, including a third-party acquaintance of Tellez and the victim, be transferred from the juvenile case to the new District Court case. Judge Boyd agreed.

In the earlier hearing, Hershey painted a picture of a premeditated crime in which Tellez allegedly played crime games with friends and kept notes on how to break into a home with the intent of committing a violent crime.

Following the incident, the surrounding neighborhood was initially on high alert while Glenwood Springs police investigated. Tellez was quickly identified as a likely suspect, and police indicated there was not an immediate public threat.

Hershey said at the March 23 hearing that there were enough concerns expressed by officials at Tellez’s school in Glenwood Springs that the higher bond is warranted. Additional evidence has been provided on that front, Hershey said Thursday.

Senior Reporter/Managing Editor John Stroud can be reached at 970-384-9160 or jstroud@postindependent.com.

Crime


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