GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A case in Brown County Court Friday afternoon involved sealed documents and an unusually high cash bond.
Miles Cruz appeared in court for a probable cause hearing but no formal charges were filed against Cruz. Additionally, all the documents in the case are sealed.
Cruz was booked into Brown County jail Wednesday by De Pere Police, just a day after an incident on the East River Trail in De Pere — where a woman was attacked and her baby was found several yards away.
In court Friday, Cruz’s attorney described his client as a runaway who was sleeping in parks.
Although prosecutors did not detail the charges, defense attorney Michael Crosby made reference to an attack on a trail but did not specify when or where that attack occurred.
“I don’t see anything in this that connects him to the case aside from a statement by another individual who was on the same trail, at the same time, that he saw Miles walking behind the eventual victim in this case,” Crosby said. “There’s nothing linking Miles to that attack at this time.”
At such bond hearings, it’s normal procedure for prosecutors to recite the charges and evidence. Instead, Brown County District Attorney David Lasee filed a sealed probable cause document.
“Obviously, it’s unusual that we file a written probable cause rather than file a criminal complaint at this juncture but I think that the probable cause statement outlines the reasons for that. The investigation is on-going,” Lasee said. “I do think there are sufficient facts to support the allegations that are set forth in the last paragraph of the affidavit.”
The court commissioner issued an unusually high bail for Cruz — a $1 million cash bond. The commissioner noted the potential risk to the public and that Cruz could pose a flight risk.
Lasee asked for 10 days to prepare a criminal complaint. A balance of initial of appearance was set for Oct. 19.
After court, Crosby declined to comment to FOX 11.
FOX 11 asked Lasee if the case is connected to the East River Trail assault, but Lasee declined to answer, saying doing so would contradict the sealing order.
De Pere Police issued a statement Friday on the trail investigation, hours before the court appearance, saying “Because of the highly sensitive nature of the trail incident investigation, we have nothing new that we can report or comment on at this time. We are continuing to actively investigate this incident and hope to be able to make a statement on the progress of the investigation early next week.”
Comments