A 17-year-old former American Idol contestant was again denied bond this week as a judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation for the young man who allegedly killed a 54-year-old South Carolina man while driving under the influence.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Caleb Kennedy was arrested in February and charged with DUI resulting in death when he drove his 2011 Ford pickup truck off the road and onto a private driveway, striking Larry Parris and shoving him into a building.
Kennedy has asked for bond four times since the crash, according to WSPA. Previous bond decisions have been delayed while a toxicology report and Kennedy’s medical records.
On Thursday, the Spartanburg County Solicitor told Judge Grace Knie that the toxicology report showed that Kennedy had 1.5 ng/mL of THC and 66 ng/ML of prescribed Prozac in his system.
Knie took the information under advisement and waited until Friday to issue her ruling, ordering the mental health evaluation in the next 45 days. She wrote that she was concerned that Kennedy posed a danger to himself and the community if he’s given bond and released.
Another bond hearing will be held after the psychiatric evaluation.
Kennedy, then a 16-year-old student at Dorman High School in Roebuck, South Carolina, made it to the Top 5 on “American Idol” in 2021 but voluntarily removed himself after a video surfaced showing him “sitting next to someone wearing a Klan-like hood.”
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[Featured image: Caleb Kennedy/Spartanburg Police Department]
