Dec 18, 2012
Archived: Little Falls Man Released From Jail After Posting Recently Lowered Bail
LITTLE FALLS, Minn. (AP) – A central Minnesota man charged with killing two teenage cousins who broke into his home on Thanksgiving is out of jail.
Morrison County jail officials say 64-year-old Byron David Smith, of rural Little Falls, posted $50,000 cash as conditional bail on Tuesday morning. His bail was originally $2 million without conditions, or $1 million with conditions.
Judge Douglas Anderson cut Smith’s bail sharply Monday despite a plea by prosecutor Todd Kosovich (KAH’-she-vitch) to double or even triple it. Kosovich said the shootings of 17-year-old Nick Brady and 18-year-old Halie Kifer were an ambush, not self-defense.
But defense attorney Steve Meshbesher said Smith wants to stay in Little Falls and defend himself against the second-degree murder charges.
Smith told investigators his home had been burglarized several times before the Thanksgiving break-in.