The 22-year-old whose apparent reckless driving killed a mother and daughter leaving a Drake concert in downtown St. Louis two weeks ago is allowed to remain free on bond, even as new details emerged about Monte Henderson's alleged recklessness just prior to the fatal crash.
At a bond hearing this morning, however, Judge Catherine Anne Dierker did tighten the terms of Henderson’s freedom as he awaits trial, placing him on house arrest.
Prosecutors said that Henderson had ignored a series of red lights before striking 42-year-old Laticha Bracero and daughter Alyssa Cordova, 21 at North 18th and Olive streets in a horrifying incident captured on video. Henderson has been charged with two counts of manslaughter and armed criminal action.
Assistant Circuit Attorney Adam Field said that Henderson's dangerous driving extends beyond a single “incident of recklessness and negligence.”
He said that traffic camera footage taken on Compton Avenue showed Henderson driving through red lights there prior to the collision, meaning that Henderson's reckless driving extended 12 blocks at a minimum and covered more than a mile.
The footage taken of Henderson's vehicle prior to the collision showed him at another intersection missing a vehicle "by inches."
He added that Henderson had been cited three times in the past two years for speeding more than 20 mph over the speed limit.
Henderson had previously been allowed to remain free with minimal conditions after posting $20,000, and prosecutors were asking Dierker to make the terms of his bond more restrictive.
Henderson's attorney TJ Mathis argued on behalf of his client's bond remaining as is. He said that the 22-year-old Pattonville High graduate had no criminal history beyond traffic tickets. Mathis said that Henderson was supposed to start a new job at a private security company the day after his arrest.
Ultimately, Dierker agreed with prosecutors and Henderson was placed on house arrest and GPS monitoring. He is allowed to leave home only to appear in court, meet with his lawyer and for doctor's visits. He also had to surrender his driver's license and must abstain from drugs and alcohol and have no contact with felons.
As Henderson left the courthouse, reporters asked him if he had anything to say to the Bracero and Cordova families and if he had any reaction to the video of the collision which was leaked by an unknown individual and has since gone viral.
Henderson didn't respond to any of the questions, though the person walking in front of him did.
"Nothing," he said.
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