Judge rules man to remain jailed on attempted murder and kidnapping charges

[00:00:00]kind of charges that are going to carry a very big price tag.

[00:00:05]>> 29-year-old man is at the center of a frightening incident Largo police say happened overnight Tuesday. Good evening everyone, I'm Josh Benson.

[00:00:11]>> I'm Jennifer Lee. Thank you for joining us this evening. Anthony Bell is accused of trying to kill a woman and abusing two children who were inside the apartment that night. News Channel 8's Victoria Lucas joins us now live from the Pinellas County Justice Center with the details. Victoria.

[00:00:28]>> Jen, Josh, Largo police tell me Bell and the woman were dating. Now he won't be able to see her, much less anyone else outside of the jail walls, because the judge ordered that he remain in jail until his next court hearing.

[00:00:42]>> Here on our position is that under the kidnapping and attempted homicide, those two offenses would be considered um dangerous crimes.

[00:00:52]>> A Pinellas County court judge agreed with the prosecution Tuesday, ordering Anthony Bell remain in jail until his next hearing.

[00:00:59]>> I have no good and lawful reason not to allow a pretrial detention.

[00:01:03]>> According to arrest documents, a woman who was dating Bell says they were both listening to music while he was drinking and smoking weed Tuesday overnight. She told investigators the 29-year-old later accused her of calling federal agents on him, put her in a chokehold, took her phone, and refused to let her leave.

[00:01:20]Police say two children were inside the apartment. A document state Bell held a knife to one child's throat. The woman then saw someone outside of the second-floor window and called for help.

[00:01:30]She was able to lower one of the children to the bystander before investigators say Bell threw her out of it. Police say the other child was rescued by officers when they got to the apartment.

[00:01:40]>> A person who is strangled just one time by an intimate partner is 750% more likely to later be killed by that same abuser.

[00:01:50]>> Amber Valenti, director of advancement for domestic violence services nonprofit CASA Pinellas, says signs before it gets to that point are more of a psychological pull.

[00:02:00]>> An abuser can be really charming and, you know, do things like love bombing, things that make the person who's in that relationship feel safe and loved and then it will eventually escalate.

[00:02:14]>> Then Valenti says it becomes difficult to leave.

[00:02:18]>> Financial abuse, maybe the abuser is controlling all the finances so that person doesn't have anywhere to go.

[00:02:25]There is isolation involved so maybe they, you know, don't have that relationship with their friends and family anymore cuz their abuser isolated them so they feel stuck.

[00:02:37]>> Bell's next court date is Monday. Live outside the Pinellas County Justice Center, Victoria Lucas, getting on your side.