VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A person of interest in an Okmulgee murder investigation will remain in Florida, for the time being, after his bond was denied Wednesday afternoon.
Joe Kennedy was arrested in Daytona Beach Shores for driving a stolen vehicle. Days earlier, Kennedy was named a person of interest in an Okmulgee homicide investigation, in which four men were found dismembered in a river.
Kennedy appeared at the Volusia County Courthouse with a public defender. Judge Bryan Feigenbaum presided.
Kennedy is charged in Florida with grand theft of a motor vehicle. His bond for that charge was upheld at $2,500.
However in reference to a warrant out of Okmulgee County for Kennedy involving a 2012 assault and battery charge, the judge did not uphold the bond initially set at $500,000.
“Based on the circumstances that have come to my attention, I’m goin to have you held with no bond at this point in time,” said Feigenbaum. “You’ll have to make a decision at some time about waiving or fighting extradition, but that’s the decision today.”
Kennedy’s public defender asked the judge to reconsider the bond, to which the judge denied again.
“Given the total picture which has come to my attention, I think at this point in time, for public safety and Mr. Kennedy’s situation, I think no bond is appropriate,” said Feigenbaum.
Feigenbaum advised Kennedy that the public defender’s office or attorney can file for a bond motion.
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