Criminal Out On Reduced Bond Guns Down Tennessee Veteran In Memphis

Image: Kobie Hope (Left), Charlie Cicalla (Right) Image Credit: MPD & Cicalla Family

The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

A West Tennessee mother is seeking justice – and answers – after finding out that the man who allegedly murdered her son in southeast Memphis had been released from jail on a reduced bond just days earlier.

Kimberly Brown of Munford says her son Charlie Cicalla, a veteran who served two tours with the Army in Afghanistan, was shot and killed on Maple Leaf Cove while celebrating New Year’s Eve with friends.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is still looking for 43-year-old Kobie Hope, the alleged gunman. A warrant has been issued for his arrest on several charges, including first-degree murder.

Cicalla’s family, however, says Hope should have never been on the streets that night in the first place.

According to police records, Hope was previously arrested on December 22 and charged with aggravated assault after he brandished a gun and threatened to kill a woman who was attempting to administer CPR to two shooting victims. 

He was placed in jail on a $100,000 bond. That amount was set partly because Hope was already out on bond for another charge.

However, on December 26, a Memphis judge reduced that bond to $75,000 and Hope was able to leave after paying that amount. He allegedly murdered Cicalla just five days after being released.

“They’re letting them back out on the streets,” said Cicalla’s sister Heather Hering. “Showing kindness to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent.”

While it is not clear which judge reduced the bond for Hope, the issue of criminals receiving lowered bonds in violent cases is one that has continued to be a recent concern.

Shelby County General Sessions Judge Bill Anderson turned in his resignation last week after months of scrutiny over his decisions to release criminals back on to the streets of Memphis, with House Speaker Cameron Sexton referring to him as “softer than jello.”

Anderson claims his March 1 retirement was always in his plans, despite the fact that he has five years remaining in his current term.