18-year-old charged with murder, aggravated assault violates bond conditions at least 37 times

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – 18-year-old Corey Hodge could be a poster guy for Breaking Bond.

“This is clearly you are breaking your bond conditions,” said Andy Kahan with Crime Stoppers.

On April 17, 2021, police say Hodge shot and killed a 17-year-old man, and wounded an 18-year-old at 1445 Lakeside Estates Drive.

Then on Aug. 19, 2021, he was charged with murder and aggravated assault.

Just two months later, in October of 2021, he had the resources to post bonds totaling $270,000.

But a month later, court documents state he can’t afford the monthly fee to obtain a GPS device.

“The monthly GPS fees aren’t that much, so in other words, he’s basically saying he doesn’t want to have a GPS on him, or he doesn’t want to have to pay for it,” said Houston City Councilmember Michael Kubosh.

“It’s clearly obvious by the documentation, he had zero intentions of abiding by any condition of his bond,” Kahan said.

In addition to a GPS monitor, Hodge was under 24-hour home confinement.

“You are supposed to be on a GPS, you are supposed to be under 24-hour house arrest. None of that happened within days and weeks of getting out on bond,” said Kahan.

In a bond condition violation report, Harris County Pre-trial Service tells 176th Criminal District Court Judge Nikita Harmon about 37 times Hodge violated his house arrest. But it took more than a month for anything to happen.

“If this would have happened in 2015, the first time he offended, the judge would have surrendered his bond, called him in. They would have had him arrested and brought to court,” said Kubosh.

In a statement, Harris County Pre-Trial Services tells us, “As a practical matter, we make every effort to bring non-compliant defendants into compliance as quickly as possible, including any necessary contact with the defendant.

“Mr. Hodge was repeatedly advised of his obligations by his pre-trial officer. He was also admonished by the judge on April 22 and was continued on supervision.”

“His further noncompliance resulted in revocation of bond.”

“How many others are out there like this that we don’t know about?” said Kahan.