photo by: Dylan Lysen/Lawrence Journal-World

Attorney Melanie Morgan takes a sticky note off of her forehead after arguing that an ankle location monitor her client Rontarus Washington Jr., right, was required to wear was unnecessary, during a court hearing on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. Morgan used the note to argue that the monitor created a stigma for Washington.

A Douglas County judge on Monday changed the conditions of Rontarus Washington Jr.’s bond in a long-running murder case, allowing him to be out of custody without location monitoring.

During a hearing on Monday, Washington’s attorney, Melanie Morgan, asked for Judge James McCabria to remove the condition of Washington’s bond that required him to wear a GPS ankle monitor. Morgan argued that the monitor was not necessary because Washington had not missed any of the 23 court dates he was required to attend since he was released from jail after posting bond in 2020.

Additionally, Morgan said the monitor had become a burden to Washington as he is currently in school to become a barber and the monitor is visible to others, creating a stigma for Washington because it raises question as to why he would be required to wear it.

To make her point, Morgan placed a sticky note on her forehead, suggesting the monitor is a marker visible for anyone to question.

“That makes it hard for him to (go on) with normal daily life,” Morgan said.

Deputy District Attorney Joshua Seiden argued against the change to Washington’s bond conditions, suggesting they were in place to not only make sure Washington came to court but also as a precaution for public safety. He noted Washington is facing a severe charge and faces a sentence of life in prison, if convicted. Seiden also argued that Washington had not missed a court date because of the bond conditions, including the ankle monitor. Seiden noted that early in the case Washington had fled Kansas for Mississippi, from where he was extradited in 2015.

After hearing the arguments, McCabria said he did not believe the monitor was necessary because Washington has not had any issues appearing in court. He said Washington had also previously been granted authority to leave the state to visit family and he had followed the conditions of his bond in that matter as well.

“In this case, I don’t hold any concerns if he’ll show up for court,” McCabria said.

Washington, 25, is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated burglary in connection with the November 2014 death of his neighbor, 19-year-old Justina Altamirano Mosso. Throughout the case, his former attorneys Adam Hall and Angela Keck had suggested Altamirano Mosso’s estranged husband, Felipe Cantu Ruiz, as a possible alternative suspect.

According to an affidavit for the case, Washington told police he had entered Altamirano Mosso’s apartment looking for change to steal, which he said he had done before. During the trial, Washington had admitted to entering Altamirano Mosso’s apartment and seeing her body, but he maintained that he did not kill her.

The jury hung after Washington’s four-week trial in September 2019. He has waived his right to a speedy trial. He spent about five years in jail with the case pending.

Washington was originally being held on a $750,000 cash or surety bond, but McCabria lowered the amount to $500,000 on July 1, 2020, the Journal-World previously reported. Washington posted the lowered bond later that day.

He is scheduled to stand trial in the case again on July 18.