TAMPA, Fla. – Last week, Joseph Killins is accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a DoorDash driver as the two were making a late-night delivery. After having been apprehended and charged, he is eager to be released from jail.
In the near future, Judge Catherine Catlin in Tampa will rule whether or not Killins will be allowed to post bail.
On Monday, at Killin’s first appearance in court, the prosecutors informed the judge that they want to contest the motion and would argue that he poses a threat to the neighborhood and need to be detained until his trial.
In spite of this, the judge did not waste any time in imposing stringent restrictions on Killins’ potential release. “In the interim, sir, you are to have no contact with the victim or any witnesses,” the judge declared, and Killins was ordered to comply.
It is strictly prohibited for Killins to make any calls to the victim or anybody else connected to the case while he is detained.
The defendant was apprehended over the weekend and charged with many charges, including aggravated sexual violence, armed robbery, and abduction while armed with a weapon. After the victim had stopped to make a DoorDash delivery on the evening of April 18, according to the investigators, Killins abducted her and then sexually assaulted her.
According to the allegations, he brandished a firearm and demanded that the DoorDash employee take him to an apartment complex in Tampa, where he then sexually attacked her.
The fact that the victim was on the phone with her partner and wearing her AirPods at the time that Killins approached her may have prevented her from being fatally injured, according to the detectives who investigated the incident.
They add that the victim’s girlfriend was able to contact for aid, and that the victim’s family was also able to track down the victim’s mobile phone and rescue her at the apartment complex.
According to the investigators, Killins then took out a revolver and shot it, striking a relative of the victim’s girlfriend who was in the line of fire. It is anticipated that the sufferer would make a complete recovery.
On Wednesday afternoon, there will be a bail hearing for Killins, and it is anticipated that the judge will give down her decision at the conclusion of the session.
