The defendant accused of killing 19-year-old Kaleb Duckworth in Dawson has received a bond after a recent hearing.
During a Dec. 14 hearing, Daniel Lee Roberts, 20, was granted a bond of $100,000 for two pending criminal cases, contingent on several conditions. He remains behind bars at the Dawson County Detention Center.
According to the new bond document filed on Dec. 20, Roberts may not violate laws while out on pretrial release. He will have to wear a GPS ankle monitor and have monthly reviews with a judge as set by the pretrial release program to ensure compliance with all bond conditions.
Roberts allegedly caused Duckworth’s death because of a fight at the Dawson County Applebee’s on July 25, 2021. The indictment for that case alleges that Roberts punched the younger teen with a closed fist, causing serious brain damage. After the fight, Duckworth was taken to a hospital with severe brain trauma and died on July 27.
Roberts has since been charged with aggravated assault, aggravated battery and two counts of felony murder. Bond for the 2021 case was initially denied.
Suspect was out on bond for a 2019 incident
When the incident with Duckworth happened, Roberts was out on a $20,200 bond for a case from 2019.
Documents for that older case allege that after getting in a verbal disagreement with the victim, he struck them while leaving a Dawson-area parking lot on Oct. 23, 2019.
After being arrested that same night, Roberts was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and carrying a concealed weapon and reckless driving.
Following his July 2021 arrest, bond for the older case was subsequently revoked at the end of August. Court documents from that time cited that he violated conditions of the 2019 bond by allegedly committing new offenses.
In October, Roberts was indicted on two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery for the Duckworth case.
Then in a document filed last month, his attorney argued that if released, Robert would be better able to assist in preparing his own defense for the 2021 case and would not be a risk to the community. After the attorney filed a renewed bond motion, the state filed a court document stating that the defendant “poses a significant risk of committing a felony pending trial.”
Kaleb’s father, Tommy Duckworth, expressed his disappointment in a written statement to the Dawson County News.
“I don’t claim to be the smartest individual in the room, but I don’t need a law degree to understand that something doesn’t make sense,” he said.
He reiterated the point that the defendant, who was out on bond for one violent crime, got charged with another violent crime that resulted in the loss of Kaleb’s life.
“And the same court system that let him out the first time has decided that he deserves to be released again,” Tommy Duckworth said. “At some point, the safety of the community must outweigh the rights of the individual.”
Kaleb’s mother, Amanda Duckworth added that the court was “not only letting Kaleb down but letting the whole community down” concerning Roberts getting bond.
DCN attempted reaching out to Superior Court Judge Kathlene Gosselin for comment.
“Any comment or explanation from a judge regarding a case would be made in an open hearing or in a written order, stated Court Administrator Jason Stephenson in an email. “And so Judge Gosselin would not have anything to add to what has already been announced in her ruling.”
