The Texas teen accused of stabbing Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet earlier in the month is reportedly holed up in a $900,000 home with his family that they are renting for an estimated $3,500 per month.
According to the Daily Mail, 17-year-old Karmelo Anthony and his family are renting the Frisco home that lies within an exclusive gated community. Anthony was released on a $250,000 bond after it was reduced from $1 million, and is under house arrest. He has to wear an ankle monitor as part of the terms of his release.
The Daily Mail went to the home, seeing a white Suburban, a black Acura, and another sedan in the driveway. One resident of the neighborhood said the family had just purchased a new car. "He got a new car. If you look at the license plate, it's got a paper tag and it says it expires June 4," the resident said.
Residents were unaware that the Anthonys lived in the neighborhood until Karmelo Anthony came home from jail on Monday. The "Richwoods" gated community is located within walking distance of Centennial High School, which Anthony attends.
One resident and mother of the neighborhood told the outlet of Anthony being in the neighborhood, "Not good. Not good. I don't think he should be out. I don't understand why he had a knife? My kids were in track. Your tents, for you school, you don't sit under another school's tent. That is NOT done because everyone leaves their stuff there while they're out on events."
"Why would you stab someone? And now he's a few doors down. It's very scary. Like could he rob houses? I don't know," she added.
Another resident said, "The whole reason we live here is because it's gated. This is supposed to be a good neighborhood. These are high-end houses. Not everyone can move in here. I don't even know what to say. This is supposed to be a safe."
The resident questioned why the Anthonys were crowd-funding while living in the lavish community. "They’re not poor people. That’s for sure."
In court on Monday, Anthony’s father, Andrew Anthony, claimed cash struggles and said that he was the sole breadwinner of the family. Prosecutors questioned why they could not use the hundreds of thousands of dollars in donated funds to pay the $1 million bond, to which Andrew Anthony said he had no access to the funds and planned to use it for his son’s legal defense. The family also said they had plans to use the crowdsourced funds to move after receiving "graphic and racist threats" in the wake of their address being posted online.
Earlier in April, Austin Metcalf was stabbed to death at a high school track meet in Texas. He died in his twin brother's arms. Anthony was arrested for the stabbing and faces first-degree murder charges. Police said the stabbing occurred following a confrontation between Metcalf and Anthony, in which Metcalf told Anthony to leave the tent they were all sitting under, saying it was for the wrong team. Anthony refused to leave. A witness said he told Metcalf, “Touch me and see what happens."
When an officer at the scene said, "I have the alleged suspect [in custody]," Anthony replied, "I'm not alleged, I did it." Officers also said that Anthony asked if Metcalf would be ok and if the stabbing would be seen as self-defense.
