Man accused of shooting 19-year-old out on bond, victim's family 'very upset'

Detroit — A 22-year-old man accused of choking and shooting a 19-year-old Trenton girl last month at a Detroit gas station is now out on bond, upsetting the teen's mom who calls the decision "egregious" and unfair to victims.

Torrion Hudson of Detroit ― who is accused of choking, shooting and robbing Kyla Moore in late December and then leading police on an extensive car chase before he was arrested ― was released from police custody after posting a $250,000 bond on Jan. 11. His bond remained the same after an emergency hearing Friday morning at Detroit's 36th District Court to amend and increase it, though he was ordered to wear a GPS tether and stay on house arrest.

Kyla Moore was attacked on Dec. 21 in the parking lot of a gas station on the 13300 block of Livernois. The Trenton resident was visiting her father, who lives in Detroit near the station, at the time. Moore was just discharged from the hospital this week after undergoing four surgeries because the bullet hit her lungs, her mother Keta Moore said. The family has started a GoFundMe to help raise money for medical expenses.

"I'm very upset... I understand that this judge cannot override the prior judge's decision," said Keta, who attended Friday's hearing. "She (the judge) did put him on tether but I'm still upset of course, that he's able to be free after the egregious thing that he did to my child."

Police apprehended Hudson on Dec. 21 after chasing him through six city precincts and into Monroe County in cars as well as helicopters. He faces multiple charges, including armed robbery, assault with intent to murder, carrying concealed weapons and weapons felony with a firearm.

His bond was initially set at $1 million, but was lowered to $250,000 at a bond redetermination hearing on Dec. 28 which was not contested at his probable cause conference on Jan. 5. Hudson posted bond on Jan. 11 and the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office filed an emergency motion to amend and increase bond on Wednesday.

At the hearing Friday, District Judge Patricia Jefferson didn't change the amount of Hudson's bond but amended the conditions. Hudson is now required to wear a GPS tether and remain on house arrest unless going to court, medical appointments, appointments with his lawyer or to a verified job.

Hudson's releases comes as public safety officials have raised concerns about the high number suspects, even those facing murder charges, being released with tethers in Wayne County as they await court proceedings. In early December, at least 31 people charged with murder in Wayne County were free on bond with GPS tethers, an "unprecedented" number, public safety officials say.

For Hudson, the only conditions of his prior bond were that he not contact the victim. He had not violated that condition as of Friday morning and Jefferson said she would not review another judge's bond unless additional, relevant information not previously available was presented to her.

"The charges themselves, regarding the seriousness of the charges, were considered by the judge and the bond was set accordingly," Jefferson said. "He's been given a $250,000 cash surety bond on this matter, which I must say, in this jurisdiction is a bond that normally is not met."

 Assistant Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Lara Nercessian claimed that they did have new information that had not been previously presented before a judge. Hudson failed to appear at a pretrial conference in Macomb County's 16th circuit court earlier this year in relation to fleeing and eluding police charges, she said.

The defendant "fled from the police," Nercessian said. "We do believe that the capias history combined with that fleeing and eluding, which inherently indicates flight, indicates that this defendant is a flight risk."

Hudson's attorney claimed there were discrepancies in the dates that Hudson was told to appear in court. He said Hudson was issued a capias, or warrant for failing to appear in court, prior to the date he was told to return to court.

Wayne County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Maria Miller claims they objected to the initial bond reduction in court and said it was "extremely concerning" that the monetary amount was so much less than the original bond and there were no GPS tether or house arrest conditions.

“This case shows the inherent flaws in the 36 District Court bond redetermination hearings. Most of the bonds are being reviewed 24-48 hours after they were initially set," Miller said. "They are mainly reduced because the defendant could not make bond without time for a thoughtful consideration of other issues concerning the safety of the victim and the public in serious felony cases such as this one."

Hudson was taken into custody after the hearing and will remain there until he can get a GPS tether. Moore said her daughter is scared and has been impacted mentally as well as physically since the attack.

"He's already shown what he's capable of doing and what more he can do," Moore said. "It's not fair to the victims. It's not fair to the 99% of people who live in this wonderful city of Detroit to be re-victimized by these criminals and the courts are allowing it to happen."

Hudson joins thousands of defendants in Wayne County who are free on bond with GPS tethers. A Detroit News analysis of county data showed that around 2,700 tethers were granted to defendants, 31 of whom are facing murder charges as of Dec. 1, 2022. Those in favor of bail reform say the current system unfairly punishes poor and minority defendants, but Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and Detroit police Chief James White have recently expressed concern at the number of murder defendants out on bail.

Michigan law says the monetary amount of bail should not be excessive and in fixing bail courts should consider the seriousness of the offense charged, the protection of the public, previous criminal record and other factors.

hmackay@detroitnews.com