West Paramedic's Detention Hearing Delayed
WACO (CBSDFW.COM) - The former West paramedic who was arrested for having bomb-making materials was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday afternoon. Bryce Reed has pled not guilty to all charges, and was expected to attend a detention hearing in Waco. However, that hearing was canceled a few hours before it was set to begin.
According to an email from Daryl Fields with the U.S. Attorney's Office, the suspect "deferred his right to a detention hearing to a later date." Fields did not give a new date for the hearing. In the meantime, Reed will remain in federal custody. At the detention hearing, Reed's attorney would have likely asked for the suspect to be released from prison.
Although he was arrested possessing a destructive device, Reed was indicted on charges of possessing an unregistered firearm. North Texas defense attorney Pete Schulte said that the charges could simply be a way for the prosecution to keep the suspect behind bars. "We could see a bond, though, that's very high -- $500,000 to $1 million," Schulte explained, "if the judge takes into account any relevant content that the government can prove in the detention hearing."
Prosecutors said that Reed had various chemicals, metals and other equipment used for making pipe bombs. If convicted of possessing a destructive device, Reed faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Authorities have emphasized that there is no evidence linking the 31-year-old suspect to the deadly fertilizer plant explosion that rocked the town of West last month. In fact, Reed was among the first responders who assisted in evacuation efforts after the explosion took place. He was also close to Cyrus Reed, a firefighter who was among the 14 people killed by the explosion.
The hearing delay comes one day before officials are expected to release a report on what sparked the fire and explosion at the West fertilizer plant.
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