FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A judge granted bond to two teenagers accused of beating a man to death after he introduced them to a female prostitute.
Juan Xolo, 17, and his cousin Jose Carlos Llano, 14, can leave jail if they each post $3,500 bond, a judge ruled Tuesday. Both teenagers are in the county illegally but there is no immigration hold on either boy.
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It's unclear if the Department of Homeland Security will place an immigration hold on Xolo and Llano before they post bond.
Xolo and Llano are charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of 32-year-old Gregory Hypollite.
Hypollite's body was found behind the Advanced Auto Parts store at 126 N. Federal Highway about 4:30 a.m. Dec. 12, 2012.
According to an arrest affidavit, Xolo, 17, and Llano, 14, met with Hypollite, 32, about 2 a.m. and agreed to give him $40 if he introduced them to a female prostitute. But the woman refused to have sex with the teenagers because they only had $10 between them.
Hypollite still wanted to be paid for introducing them, and Llano went home to get cash, said police. He instead returned with a HP laptop and offered that as payment.
Hypollite refused to take it and an argument began, said police. The three then began fighting, and Llano told police he had Hypollite in a choke hold while Xolo stabbed him with a pen and hit him with a broken glass bottle.
Xolo denied using the bottle but admitted to stabbing Hypollite with a pen.
When officers arrived, they saw two teenagers hitting a man who was on the ground, said Hallandale Police Chief Dwayne Flournoy. The teenagers then ran away. Officers soon found Hypollite's body.
The teenagers face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.