Following a controversial decision, additional law enforcement officers were called to the Courthouse after Daniel Triplett, the lone suspect in the shooting death of Brent Mack, was granted a $500,000 bond.
A bond hearing was heard last week with two witnesses testifying in front of Special Judge Susan Worthington, including Lt. Mark Bruning with the Guthrie Police Department and the wife of Triplett, Sharon.
Mack was shot and killed and found buried under a septic tank in northern Logan County. Triplett, an owner and operator for a septic tank installation business, was charged with murder in the first degree and desecration of a human corpse on Oct. 25.
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On the stand, Bruning, the lead investigator in the case, told Assistant District Attorney Kevin Etherington that bond should not be granted for Triplett.
Sharon Triplett testified and described her husband’s background, including his business and education.
Ultimately, Judge Worthington set the bond for Triplett after considering his constitutional rights and the safety of the community.
Triplett, a former Guthrie city councilman in the late 1980’s, will be under house arrest and only allowed to leave to visit his attorney, doctor appointments and court dates. Triplett will also be required to wear an electronic monitoring and must surrender his passport and all firearms.
Following the bond decision, family and friends of Mack were asked to leave the courthouse as they were vocal about their displeasure of the decision. Police officers asked the family to move outside and across the street as the Triplett family was escorted to their vehicle.
Mack’s brother, Troy Franklin, has created an online petition seeking justice for his brother and the disbarment of Judge Worthington.
“There is video evidence of the murder and she is setting him free on bond,” Franklin said in the petition. “I worry about the citizens of Guthrie as he is being released to a home full of guns still.”
Triplett is the lone murder suspect in recent time to receive a bond for first degree murder.
Currently, four suspects who are facing first degree murder charges sit in the Logan County Jail without bond — all issued by Worthington — as they await trial.
Triplett remained in custody as of Monday morning.
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