DALLAS — A Dallas County judge has removed herself from a high-profile case involving a suspect in jail accused of murder, shooting a child in the head and firing an AR-15 at Dallas police officers.
In March, WFAA first reported Judge Chika Anyiam had considerably lowered the bonds for Julio Guerrero paving the way for his release. WFAA also reported the judge received more than $5,000 in campaign contributions from Guererro's attorney.
After public outcry, Aniyam raised the bonds again.
The Dallas District attorney filed a 45-page motion asking the judge to recuse herself because there were questions about her impartiality in this case.
Guerrero's defense attorney is the judge's top campaign contributor.
Francisco Villaneuva's family said they are relieved Anyiam won't be hearing the case involving his murder.
"I'm glad somebody finally told her to step down," said Carlos De La Rosa, Villanueva's brother-in-law.
Police said Julio Guerrero killed Villanueva after the two men bumped into each other at a club last year.
Guerrero is also accused of shooting a 3-year-old girl in the head, leaving her partially paralyzed, and firing an AR-15 at Dallas Police Department officers when they went to arrest him.
Judge Anyiam held three separate bond hearings for Guerrero this past year.
Court documents show that in each hearing the judge stated he posed a threat to the public: "I know that the victims are scared. Mr. Guerrero is a danger, poses a danger to the community."
Still, the judge lowered his bonds from nearly $2 million to $600,000 in March.
At that hearing, Guerrero's family packed the court and testified on his behalf.
The judge stated," The only reason I am lowering these bonds is because he had such family support."
"His family is always going to back him up because they want him there but we also would love to have my brother-in-law with me today," De La Rosa said.
Anyiam's decision to lower the bond caused outrage from the victims' families, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia and Governor Greg Abbott.
"It was a slap in the face to the victims' families and to the citizens of this community," Garcia said.
After the public backlash, Anyiam raised the bonds back to nearly $2 million but blamed the prosecutor, saying she had not done a good job refreshing her memory about the allegations. The district attorney said the judge was trying to "shift the blame."
The victim's families and police organizations called for the judge's removal.
The district attorney last week filed the motion stating: "This judge should be recused from presiding over the prosecution of this matter because her actions are such that her impartiality over the prosecution of this matter might be reasonably questioned."
The district attorney also said it's common practice for judges to take campaign contributions from lawyers and not prohibited by law, but it's up to the judge to determine if there's a conflict of interest.
Anyiam recently signed the order to remove herself but has declined to talk about an ongoing case.
WFAA is mentioned in the motion several times because of our coverage of this case and the publicity surrounding the judge's ruling.