One of two defendants arrested in connection to an alleged battery outside Anna Maria Elementary is out of jail.
It’s unclear how long the other may remain in custody.
Assistant public defender Alison Clough filed a motion May 6 to modify the $50,000 bond given her client, 18-year-old Sarasota resident Cameron Evans. He is facing a second-degree felony charge for aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm.
The motion was set to be discussed at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 18, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
The charge stems from a March 23 incident outside Anna Maria Elementary, 4700 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, that sent resident Evan Purcell, 41, to the hospital with serious injuries.
Purcell was walking his dog with his 10-year-old niece when he saw a group of young adults and teenagers possibly vandalizing the facility, according to a Holmes Beach Police Department report.
When Purcell asked the group to leave school grounds, they became aggressive and confronted him. He apparently drew a pocketknife before the group beat him to the point of unconsciousness.
Purcell’s niece ran to a nearby residence to call 911 during the incident.
Emergency medical services responded and transported Purcell to the HCA Florida Blake Hospital in Bradenton.
The Purcell family has not responded to inquiries about his condition since March 25.
The HBPD identified Evans, Palmetto resident John Bartholow, 17, and an unnamed juvenile as suspects connected to the incident using video footage from the scene and witness testimony.
Within a month, all three were arrested.
The unnamed juvenile was released to his family.
Bartholow and Evans were placed in custody at the Manatee County jail, each under a $50,000 bond and charged by the state attorney’s office with second-degree felony charges for their alleged roles in the battery.
Bartholow posted his $50,000 bond April 21 and was released into the Manatee County Probation Department’s pretrial services program.
The program allows a defendant’s release from custody but restricts movement and provides official supervision until a case is settled.
Evans evaded arrest but has been in jail since April 14.
Clough wrote in her May 6 motion that his bond was excessively expensive and requested the court alter his pretrial release conditions.
Clough’s motion asks the court to consider implementing nonmonetary conditions or reducing the bond since Evans could not afford the payment.
Bradenton-based attorney Jon Weiffenbach, representing both Clough and Bartholow, has not responded to The Islander’s inquiries about the case.