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Bond reduction denied

| May 5, 2018 1:00 AM

By RALPH BARTHOLDT

Staff Writer

COEUR d’ALENE — A man indicted by a grand jury for his connection to the death of a small child is being held in the Kootenai County jail on a $1 million bond.

Cody J. Hull, 24, of Rathdrum, is accused in the Nov. 24 death of the 7-month-old child of his girlfriend, according to the indictment that included the testimony of 16 witnesses including physicians and Kootenai County Sheriff’s investigators.

Hull, according to the indictment, “did unlawfully kill and murder a human being, committed in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of aggravated battery upon (the) child … by inflicting a head injury upon Stella M. Engall.”

Arguing for a bond reduction, defense attorney Jason Johnson of Spokane told the court at Friday’s hearing in Coeur d’Alene, that his client has no criminal history and that he grew up in the area.

“The defendant has the support of not only his family, but the child’s family,” Johnson told Magistrate Clark Peterson.

Johnson asked that Hull, who works at Walmart and lives with the baby’s mother, be released on his own recognizance, and that he wear a monitoring device.

Deputy prosecutor Melissa McClure argued against Hull’s release, citing the nature of the crime and the potential for a lengthy prison sentence if Hull is found guilty.

“I think the bail should be left at $1 million,” McClure said.

Bail was set a day earlier by a district court judge after thoroughly reviewing the case, she said.

Peterson left the bond in place, advising Johnson to file a motion for bond reduction at the District Court level.

Hull lived in California prior to moving to Idaho and has a prior misdemeanor conviction for not having a driver’s license, according to prosecutors. If convicted, he could face a minimum charge of 10 years behind bars and a maximum life sentence.

His next hearing is an arraignment in First District Court, which has not been set.