$2 million bond set for Burnet County man in murder case

FROM STAFF REPORTS

BURNET — State District Judge Allan Garrett set a $2 million bond on Oct. 7 for Garrett James Ballard, 21, who faces a capital murder of multiple persons charge for allegedly gunning down two of his friends in August.

Burnet County investigators have charged Ballard for allegedly murdering Elijah Adam Benson, 17, and Travis Leslie Fox, 26, on Aug. 19 after the three supposedly used hallucinogenic drugs, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Deputies arrested Ballard on Aug. 19 and booked him into the Burnet County Jail, where he’s been since that date without a bond until Oct. 7.

District Attorney Wiley “Sonny” McAfee said the amount of bond was in response to the severity of the alleged crime.

“Safety of the community is always a major concern for the DA’s office as well as the courts for setting bond,” McAfee said. “The bond is to ensure that someone appears in court. It is also to ensure the safety of the community and the judge is to consider the circumstances of the offense.”

The district attorney said several witnesses testified before Garrett to the severity, nature and circumstances of the offense.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Ballard told investigators he and the two other individuals had purchased some “acid’ from another acquaintance and returned to his residence on the 5800 block of CR 340 to celebrate one of the men’s birthdays.

But sometime during the celebration, Ballard told investigators the two alleged victims began demonstrating “strange and disruptive behaviors.” At some point, Ballard obtained a rifle from a relative’s vehicle and shot the other two men, the affidavit stated.

“The judge heard evidence,” McAfee said regarding the bond hearing. “The evidence showed there was proof evident that a capital murder had occurred.”

Ballard has not been indicted for the alleged crimes at this point. McAfee said he and his office are still working on presenting the case to the grand jury.

“Talking about capital murder cases, in general, oftentimes they can be very complicated,” the district attorney said. “There are a lot of things that we need to nail down that investigators have to follow up on, and those things take a considerable amount of time.”

McAfee added that capital murder cases in general tend to require more time and energy because the only punishments available are life without parole or the death penalty.

editor@thepicayune.com