A judge Wednesday revoked a 15-year-old Lincoln boy's bond because of a TikTok video posted last month in a case where he's accused of fatally stabbing a 16-year-old boy in May.
Stephen "Max" D'Amore — whose pretrial release was the subject of political mailers in a Lincoln-area Legislative race — was in court on a motion to transfer his case to juvenile court.
In it, he's accused of the first-degree murder of Xavian Sawyer.
At a previous hearing, a chief probation officer testified about programming available for youth, and D'Amore's pre-adjudication supervisor and therapist testified about how he's been doing.
On Wednesday, Dr. Kirk Newring, a psychologist who evaluated D'Amore, testified about his opinion that he presents as low-risk of future acts of homicidal violence like this, which had been triggered by a fight-or-flight event involving a perceived threat to himself and his loved ones.
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"Prior to this case I don't think he fully appreciated the damage a bladed instrument could do and he likely over estimated the ability to recover from an injury, for both himself and Xavian," he said. "And that him having engaged in behavior that led to the death of one of his friends from elementary school is something that he's learned from."
Before the hearing broke for the day, Lancaster County District Judge Ryan Post took up Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Amy Goodro's motion, which alleged he had violated a condition of his release that he "not be involved, directly or indirectly, in unlawful or disorderly conduct or acts injurious to others."
Post ended up increasing his bond to $1 million so family would need to post another $25,000 for him to get out.Â
The motion was based on a 1 minute, 4 second TikTok video of D'Amore and three others, one of them his older sister, dancing to a rap song about guns.
In it, D'Amore smoked from a vape and made a hand motion of a gun, and his teenage sister held a vodka bottle.
Earlier in the hearing, after Curtis Thornton, D'Amore's grandfather, testified about D'Amore's good grades in his remote classes and about negative drug tests, Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Chris Reid played the video and asked if he recognized where it was taken.
Thornton said it was his basement, where D'Amore has been staying since they posted his $750,000 percentage bond in the case.
It was the first time he'd seen the video.
"Does this video give you any concerns about what Max is doing when his friends are over?" Reid asked him.
"It's concerning, yes," Thornton said.
He and his wife work during the day, and he tracks D'Amore's location through his phone and has cameras outside the house and in the hallway to the basement, where his bedroom is.
Thornton said D'Amore was staying at their home because his mom works split shifts and wasn't always able to supervise him in the evenings.
Reid asked him if he knew that D’Amore’s mom was there the night of the stabbing and it still happened.
"Well, the guy showed up and attacked him," Thornton said.
Police say that shortly before midnight May 18, Xavian Sawyer called 911 as he pulled up to D'Amore's home near North 64th and Adams streets, where Sawyer's mom was arguing with D'Amore's sister about a vandalism earlier that night.
Video showed the two in a pushing match when Sawyer showed up and squared up with D'Amore. Sawyer swung once, then D'Amore swung back, striking him twice in the chest with a knife.Â
Sawyer died at the hospital of his wounds. One, an 8-inch-deep stab wound to his right side and the other a 6½-inch wound to the center of his chest.
D'Amore was 14 at the time, but since has turned 15.
Post is set to hear more evidence Thursday on the motion before ultimately deciding whether the case should be moved to juvenile court, which could have jurisdiction over D'Amore until he's 19.