Questions raised about ankle monitor on man accused of killing Portia Pollock; bond revoked

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - An Orleans Criminal Court judge has revoked bond for the man accused of killing Portia Pollock.

Bryan Andry was out on bond for armed robbery charges when he allegedly killed Pollock during a carjacking, according to police.

Andry’s attorney appeared in court on Tuesday, June 15, on a separate charge.

During a 20-minute hearing, Judge Angel Harris attempted to set the record straight on whether Andry was wearing an ankle monitor at the time of Pollock’s murder.

Judge Harris and Andry’s attorney both said they saw the monitor on the suspect during a March court hearing, but a New Orleans bail bondsman says there needs to be documentation.

“When he got transferred to Jefferson he wound up getting out,” says bondsman Matt Dennis. “This is not a blame game, this is a solutions game. Minimum standards should be applied to everyone being released on an ankle monitor.”

Judge Harris revoked bond for Andry on two armed robbery charges he faced before Pollock’s murder.

At Tuesday’s hearing, a prosecutor argued for bond revocation, but the Metropolitan Crime Commission says a new policy, put in place by the District Attorney’s office to take a neutral position during bail hearings, may have had a lot to do with the judge reducing Andry’s bond to $100,000 back in February, despite his eight previous convictions dating back to 1991.

RELATED STORIES:

“I’d like to see good come out of this”: Congo Square drum circle remembers Portia Pollock

Councilmember calls on judges for answers in Portia Pollock’s murder

Portia Pollock’s family speaks out about arrest in the case

“Louisiana law says bail needs to be in the context of the risk the offender poses to the community and whether the charges he’s arrested for are serious,” says Rafael Goyeneche of the MCC.

Goyeneche calls for a return of adversarial hearings in all bail hearings so the people of Louisiana are represented as well as the defendants.

According to the DA, state laws says bonds are up to the discretion of the judge, who can respond to his or her own motion to raise or reduce them.

A spokesperson for the Orleans Parish DA’s office responded by saying “everyone is welcomed to their opinions, but not their own facts. To imply that the DA’s office is responsible for the reduction of bond and subsequent release of the man charged with the murder of Portia Pollock is false, incredibly irresponsible, and careless.”

“The code of criminal procedure is clear; judges set bonds, not prosecutors,” it went on to say.

Andry is being held in jail without bond for Pollock’s murder as well as the two armed robbery charges.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Click Here to report it. Please include the headline.

Copyright 2021 WVUE. All rights reserved.