A man has been arrested over the fatal shooting of his Taco Bell manager in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Prosecutors revealed in court this week that Jonathan Morris, 21, was fired from the fast-food restaurant on Gest Road in Queensgate the day before he fatally shot the manager, identified as Ryan Johnson, just after midnight on Aug. 29.
Cincinnati police said they found Johnson down in the parking lot with multiple gunshot wounds that evening. The 32-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.
They are devastated by this. It was senseless. We believe he [Johnson] was only trying to help [Morris],” Assistant Prosecutor David Hickenlooper said in court. Hickenlooper asked Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Tyrone Yates to set Morris’ bond at $2 million.
The suspect’s public defender said he and his family have zero money to pay for a bond of any kind. He also noted Morris had only had one prior contact with the court and was acquitted. Plus, Morris cares for his 1-year-old son and lives with his father.
Judge Yates ended up setting Morris’ bond at $500,000 straight (full, not 10%). Should Morris be released, he would be under 24/7 house arrest with electronic monitoring.
“Prosecutors don’t set the bonds. Judges set the bail amount,” Judge Yates said following the hearing. “From our oldest case of law of the U.S. Constitution: ‘It is the province of the judicial department to say what the law (and the bond) is.”
Taco Bell Corp. also issued a statement in response to the incident:
“We are shocked and saddened to hear that this happened. Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of the team member in this difficult time. We understand the owner and operator of this location is working with the local authorities in their investigation.”
