The 17-year-old accused of shooting two young men in the head, killing one and critically injuring the second, is set to appear in court Tuesday for a status conference.
Authorities initially arrested Hilton on a pair of charges for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection to the shooting of Riley and Benjamin Bliek, 20, who at last report was still hospitalized.
Prosecutors charged Hilton with murder when Riley died.
Hilton’s attorney on Friday filed a motion to set a reasonable bond at $500,000, which she argues would ensure her client’s presence in court proceedings, according to court filings. Most bond companies in Texas require at least 10 percent of the bond up front to cover the bond.
“The amount of bond is a tool to guarantee the defendant’s presence in court and not to be used as an instrument of oppression,” Jennifer “JL” Carpenter, who practices in Friendswood and represents Hilton, wrote.
“Safeguards can and will be put in place to prevent Mr. Hilton from being a continuing danger to society, and ensure that he will appear in court as scheduled, such as GPS monitoring.”
Hilton is alleged to have told investigators he “wanted the gun with intent of shooting someone and/or himself,” according to the affidavit.
Carpenter on Dec. 27 filed a legal motion to suppress any statements her client might have made just after the two teenage boys were gravely wounded, according to court documents.
The motion asks Judge Kerry Neves of the 10th District Court to instruct prosecutors not to “mention, allude to, or refer to” the fact Hilton may have made statements to law officers immediately after he was detained or arrested, according to court records.
The motion seeks to muffle talk about statements until after a hearing to determine whether they are admissible as testimony, according to court records.
Also on Dec. 28, Carpenter issued a statement on behalf of the Hilton family.
“The parents of Connor Hilton cannot express enough their deepest condolences to the victims’ families who have been heavily on the Hiltons’ hearts and minds as they try to navigate this devastating situation,” the statement reads.
“The Hilton family wants to thank everyone who has reached out in love and support, including all who sent positive comments about Connor’s character and good nature in general.
“The family asks for continued prayers for everyone affected, especially the victims’ families.”
The issue in this story, ignored by the GDN, is to whom is the gun registered? If one of this man's parents bought the gun, then they have broken the law and should be charged. Has the Galveston Daily News even asked this question???
There is no publicly accessible gun registry in the state of Texas. The only thing that might exist is the ATF form for the original transaction. We have asked about ownership and Friendswood police have made clear they're not going to disclose any more than they already have during the investigation.
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The issue in this story, ignored by the GDN, is to whom is the gun registered? If one of this man's parents bought the gun, then they have broken the law and should be charged. Has the Galveston Daily News even asked this question???
There is no publicly accessible gun registry in the state of Texas. The only thing that might exist is the ATF form for the original transaction. We have asked about ownership and Friendswood police have made clear they're not going to disclose any more than they already have during the investigation.
Thanks for the explanation, Laura.
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Internet forum rules ...
Real names required. No pseudonyms or partial names allowed. Stand behind what you post.
Keep it clean. Don't use obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don’t knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be brief. Keep posts to 250 words or less.
Edit yourself. No more than three posts per thread and stay on topic. Do not link to sites outside galvnews.com.
Be aware. All posts are property of The Daily News and may be republished in print.
Be proactive. Use the "Report" link on each comment to let us know of rule violations.