Bail reduced for man who shot 3 year old Texas boy in the face

Back in September we wrote about a man who shot a 3 year old Texas boy in the face for no reason at all. ( September 3, 2013). Now a judge is reducing the bail for this heinous crime. From an article:

A judge reduced the bail Friday for a Dallas man accused of shooting an 8-year-old boy in the face last month.

Brian Cloninger, 46, has remained in the Dallas County jail since he was arrested Sept. 3 after police say he shot Donald Maiden Jr. in the face. District Judge Larry Mitchell lowered the bail from $2.2 million to $1 million after Cloninger’s attorney asked that the amount be reduced to $25,000.

Investigators believe Cloninger had been drinking before he shot Maiden at the boy’s Lake Highlands apartment complex, Prosecutor Tammy Kemp said at the hearing Friday.

At the time of the shooting, Cloninger was still serving a 15-month probationary sentence for a 2012 DWI in Travis County. He was charged in 2002 with driving under the influence in Palm Beach.

Cloninger was not allowed to consume alcohol while on probation, prosecutors said. Police found a beer can in his truck after the shooting.

Police said Maiden was outside his Lake Highlands apartment complex looking for his bike when Cloninger shot him. Maiden recently returned home after a month-long hospital stay.

Every day since returning home, Maiden asks his mother, Monique Locklin, to call to make sure Cloninger is still behind bars, Locklin said.

“He’s afraid,” she said. “And he doesn’t do well around people he’s not familiar with.”

Police said no witnesses saw the shooting, but several apartment residents told police they heard the shot. One witness approached Cloninger after the shooting to ask if he had shot the boy, Det. Paolo Sparacino said at the hearing.

Little boys should be able to play outside without being shot in the face for no reason.