A judge on Friday rejected a bid to reduce the $500,000 bail of a 13-year-old boy currently jailed as an adult on kidnapping charges following an investigation into attempted kidnappings over the summer of several women in the Pointe West area.
After his July 10 arrest, Elijah Cartwright was placed in the St. Lucie Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Fort Pierce, but he had been in custody at the Indian River County Jail for about four months after a grand jury returned an indictment on August 7 felony kidnapping, records show.
The details came up Friday during questioning of Cartwright and his mother by his attorney, Assistant District Attorney Michelle Rhodeback, who sought to have his bond reduced to $25,000.
In his ruling, Circuit Judge Robert Meadows denied the request, noting, “This court is well aware of this situation and … at this time, I am going to deny the motion to reduce the bonds.”
Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers holds a news conference Wednesday, July 10, 2024, at the Pointe West community gazebo, located at 1550 76th Drive, regarding a suspect taken into custody after two attempted kidnappings in the Indian River County neighborhood . Some community members joined the press conference and asked questions about the details of the case.
If the boy’s $500.00 bond is posted, Meadows said additional requirements will be required, such as GPS monitoring and home confinement conditions.
In his plea for a reduced bond, requested by Cartwright and his mother, who testified on his behalf in court, Rhodeback argued that the current amount and his conditions of confinement in jail amounted to excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment.
“He went to school, and he was going to go back to school,” Rhodeback said. “Currently in prison, as he said, he goes to school once every few weeks to get some form of education. So this doesn’t help him in any way.”
Assistant State’s Attorney William Long countered that if released, Cartwright would return to the same living conditions as at the time of his arrest.
His mother told Meadows that she and the Cartwright siblings moved from Pointe West to a home in the Highlands.
“In bond hearings, the response is often financial, but money is not the only consideration in this courtroom,” Long argued. “There are certain crimes, of which this is one, where the court must consider what is necessary to protect the community.”
For a long time, this age was the only reason offered to reduce the $500,000 bond. He repeated a statement that Cartwright was accused by law enforcement of saying during an attempt to kidnap a woman that led to his arrest.
“You’re not going to make any (expletive) noise, you understand? You’re coming with me,” Long read aloud in court, referencing the boy’s alleged statement, sheriff’s investigators said.
Cartwright faces one count of kidnapping, but Sheriff Eric Flowers has said the boy may face additional charges after prosecutors and detectives complete their investigation.
On July 7, a woman told investigators she was attacked on her porch and grabbed from behind by someone she thought was a man before struggling with the attacker, who then fled.
Arrest records show Cartwright also has been charged with attempting to kidnap two other women in the Pointe West neighborhood south of State Road 60, east of Interstate 95 on June 29 and July 2.
Cartwright was a student at Storm Grove Middle School at the time. He was identified by at least four people who contacted the Sheriff’s Office after the agency released door camera photos and videos of the incidents on his social media accounts, according to law enforcement records.
According to court documents, the attacks allegedly occurred at night or in the early morning hours of June 29, July 2 and July 7, all in the Pointe West Golf Course development.
Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers. To follow @coreyarwood at X, email corey.arwood@tcpalm.com or call 772-978-2246.
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This article originally appeared in Treasure Coast Newspapers: Bond reduction denied for 13-year-old boy accused of kidnapping
