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Judge rules no bond for Nikolas Cruz at Friday court hearing

Posted at 8:34 AM, Mar 09, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-09 21:52:18-05

The 19-year-old man charged with killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School appeared in a Broward County courtroom via a video from the jail for a bond hearing Friday.

FULL COVERAGE: Parkland school shooting | Cruz seen laughing in jail days after shooting

The hearing only lasted a few minutes.

The judge found probable cause to hold Nikolas Cruz without bond for 17 charges of attempted murder. He had already been denied bond for 17 charges of murder.

On Wednesday, a grand jury indicted Cruz on those 17 counts of attempted murder on top of the 17 counts of murder.

Cruz withdrew his plea of not guilty on Thursday and is now "standing mute" to the charges.

WPTV Legal Analyst Michelle Suskauer said standing mute is rarely used, but she thinks there's a reason for it in this case.

"Because this case has gotten national and international attention, because of the children that are involved, because of the community and how raw this is, I think this sends a signal," she said. "You don’t hear him actually say not guilty.”

Cruz's arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday.

The state attorney's office has yet to decide whether or not to pursue the death penalty.

Cruz's defense's goal has been to avoid putting the community through a trial by offering a guilty plea for a life sentence.

“I’m sure that the defense and the state will continue to have a conversation to see if there could be some kind of resolution in this matter," Suskauer said.