Cassandra Gross’ estranged boyfriend’s recent run-ins with the law weren’t enough for a judge to revoke his bond on Tuesday, but he did raise it considerably.
The judge boosted Thomas Stanko’s bond from $500 to $20,000 straight for a 2017 bar fight in which Gross was apparently the prime witness.
She’s been missing since April, and Stanko's attorney believes that’s what this push from the commonwealth boils down to.
“They’re overly hyper on that, and the crazy thing is, she is his best witness on this case, because she came to the preliminary hearing,” Bertani said. “She was going to testify on his behalf, so it’d be foolish for him to get involved in something that would make her disappear.”
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Since the bar fight at the Tin Lizzy, where Stanko allegedly knocked out several of the victim’s teeth, he has been hit with two more criminal cases. The commonwealth argued that his bond should be revoked because he’s prohibited from criminal activity.
On Tuesday, the judge he can’t detain Stanko just because he is or may be a person of interest in Gross’ disappearance, but he can consider it.
Bertani told Channel 11 he thought the commonwealths push was a stretch.
“I thought the judge was very fair looking at the circumstances of I think what’s created here,” Bertani said. “Of course he’s done stupid stuff, but I don’t think there’s anything that’s violent or bad.”
Cox Media Group
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