A Reno County, Kan., judge raised bail Wednesday morning to $700,000 for a man from the state charged with shooting and killing an Evanston resident.
Michael Briscoe, 35, was ordered held in lieu of a $501,500 bond Friday, but Tom Stanton, Reno County deputy district attorney, said he argued for a higher bail Wednesday morning, citing Briscoe’s criminal background and the “strength and callousness of the case.” The judge agreed and scheduled Briscoe’s next court date for Oct. 16.
Briscoe is accused of fatally shooting Sem Adrien, 26, after a disagreement Sept. 9 in Hutchinson, Kan., where Adrien had finished a temporary job for the state fair days earlier. Adrien and Briscoe knew each other, according to prosecutors.
Briscoe has been charged with alternative counts of first- and second-degree murder as well as aggravated intimidation of a victim or witness, possession of methamphetamine and criminal possession of a firearm by a felon.
Stanton said Briscoe was convicted of possession of cocaine with intent to sell in 2003 and has also faced battery and robbery charges. Based on that record, Stanton said he described Briscoe as a “danger to the community” in court Wednesday morning.
Briscoe appeared in court Wednesday morning through a video feed and made brief remarks unrelated to the fatal shooting, Stanton said.
— Patrick Svitek
