31-year-old man charged with capital murder asks for new bond hearing after waiting 7 years for trial
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - No one would deny Hurricane Harvey and the pandemic impacted criminal trials. But should it really take seven years for a capital murder defendant to have his day in court?
Daniel Arp can be seen on YouTube videos playing the piano.
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"He played at the nursing home where my father was at we miss that a lot for sure," said Daniel's brother David Arp.
Daniel Arp was 55 when he was gunned down while working as a security guard. It happened July 15, 2015, at 8250 Park Place.
His alleged killer, 31-year-old Jeremy Wayne Miller, was out on bond for murder and aggravated assault.
"A few months after he got bonded out, he shot my brother," David Arp said.
"One of the bond conditions on the murder was wearing an ankle monitor," said Andy Kahan with Crime Stoppers. "He was actually wearing an ankle monitor when he's accused of murdering Daniel Arp."
"Now we have just recently learned that Jeremy has asked for a bail review," said Arp. "Our position is instead of a bail review, he should go to trial."
The victim’s brother says seven years is a long time to wait for justice. Something Daniel Arp's mother will never see. In 2018, three years after losing her son, Patricia Ann Arp, died in a house fire on Christmas Day.
Jeremy Miller wrote a letter to 337th Criminal District Court Judge Coleen Gaido asking for a bond hearing. She agreed and it's set for later this month.
"I think he's demonstrated he's a flight risk," Arp said.
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"It seems unfashionable. It seems unthinkable, but we all know what's going on in the criminal justice system these days," said Kahan. "There are no guarantees, there are no slam dunks. There's no it's not going to happen and I'd be foolhardy to tell any family, especially this family, that the judge won't grant him a bond."