A judge doubled the bond on Wednesday for a Guilford teen
charged with attempted murder.
Ellis Tibere remains in custody now on a $2 million bond and
will receive a competency evaluation – both were requested by the prosecution and
granted by Judge Gary White.
The 19-year-old appeared in court in Stamford, accused of
violating the conditions of his bond release. Police say on Monday afternoon,
Tibere cut off his two monitoring bracelets and took off from his home in
Guilford carrying a steak knife.
He had been living with his parents on house arrest for the
past seven months as he faces charges for repeatedly stabbing a woman he didn't
know in a Westport parking lot in January.
In court today, Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph
Valdes said Tibere's father found him shortly after down the road having a
conversation with a person called "Jackson" who was not actually
there.
When police arrived, Tibere had walked about a third of a
mile to a cemetery in the woods.
Valdes said Tibere was lying in the snow in the fetal
position and unresponsive to police questions. Valdes told the judge that the
incident further illustrates how high risk the defendant is – something that
was echoed by the stabbing victim's attorney before the judge's ruling.
“I thought Judge White did the right thing and raised the
bond. That's really important for the protection of my client and society,”
said Gene Riccio. “Obviously, his mental health needs to be looked at…by
professionals.”
Tibere's attorney says he respectfully disagrees with the
amount the bond was raised and argued for a more modest increase. Tibere's
attorney said in court his client's family will not be able to post the new
bond.
Tibere spent 12 weeks in a psychiatric hospital before being put on house arrest.