The Michigan man accused of shooting a 6-year-old boy in the arm as the child retrieved his bike from the man’s yard is back in custody following community outcry over him initially being released on $10,000 bond.
“The defendant is no longer free, and is already back in custody,” the prosecutor’s office announced on Facebook.
The bond for 29-year-old Ryan Le-Nguyen was increased to $100,000 during a hearing on Thursday, Washtenaw County prosecuting attorney Eli Savit told USA Today. After the hearing, Le-Nguyen was taken back into custody without incident.
“We are glad the defendant is back in custody, to ensure the safety of the community,” Savit said. “[He] was shot in the arm, but a couple of inches over and he would be dead.”
Le-Nguyen was initially arrested and charged with assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to do bodily harm and two firearms charges in the Saturday shooting of the Ypsilanti Township boy, but bonded himself out on Tuesday. Le-Nguyen’s $10,000 bond was set by Judge Elisha Fink of the Washtenaw County 14-A District Court.
Washtenaw Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Derrick Jackson said the office received numerous calls from community members upset over the low bond, but noted that setting bond isn’t up to the sheriff’s department.
The Washtenaw County prosecutor’s office filed an emergency motion to cancel Le-Nguyen’s bond amid the outrage.
“We share in the community’s pain and anger from a child being shot. And we know that, for many, the pain and anger is compounded by the fact that the defendant was able to make his bond as set by the court,” Savit wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.
Judge Anna Frushour, of the 14A-1 District Court, granted the motion for Le-Nguyen to be brought back into custody.
Savit, who initially sought $100,000 bond for Le-Nguyen, said the man was brought back into custody to “ensure public safety.”
On Saturday, June 5, 6-year-old Coby and his siblings were playing outside of their home on Candlewood Lane, when he went to retrieve his bike after leaving it in the neighbor’s yard.
Le-Nguyen, who was upset that the bike had been left in his yard, according to Coby’s father Arnold Daniel, reportedly threatened the boy with a sledgehammer before going back inside his house and firing a gun through the front window, striking Coby in the right arm.
The incident was captured by a Ring camera and shows Coby screaming as an older boy yells to call the police.
Coby was rushed to the hospital where a doctor said the boy might not have survived if the bullet had struck an inch toward either side.
According to Jackson, an altercation had occurred between Coby, a 14-year-old, a 9-year-old, and Le-Nguyen prior to the shooting.
While Le-Nguyen had been ordered not to return home following his initial Tuesday release, Daniel expressed concern over the safety of his family at the time. He said he’s had problems with the neighbor in the past.
“I don’t know what he’s capable of,” the father told Fox 2.
A probable cause conference is scheduled for July 22.
