When Denny "Casper" Kandt was arrested in connection with a double homicide in January, his neighbors weren't surprised, they were relieved.
"He's been a troublemaker in the neighborhood for about 10 years," said Maxine Sudweeks. "He's been a bully, an intimidator . . . the neighbors are terrified of him . . . Run the neighborhood, that's what he's done, him and his little goonies."She and her neighbors believed he'd have to stay in jail until his trial, especially when prosecutors amended the charges against Kandt from conspiracy to commit aggravated murder to two counts of murder.
But because bail was set at $25,000 based on the original assault charge - a lesser crime - Kandt's family was able to raise enough money to bail him out of jail after he spent 16 days there.
The judge ordered him to stay away from his parents' Rose Park home where he was raised, but neighbors and police say that hasn't happened.
"I couldn't believe they turned him loose," Sudweeks said, the disgust apparent in her inflection. "I thought he'd have to stay in jail."
But Kandt, as every person charged with a crime, has a right to be presumed innocent and, in turn, a constitutional right to bail.
Salt Lake Police Capt. Marty Vuyk said police and prosecutors discussed requesting a bail hearing at which time they could have asked the judge to raise the bail in light of the murder charges.
"But for some reason it never occurred," Vuyk said. "Since his release, he's been a real problem to us."
Kandt was arrested on the murder charges Jan. 20, and released Feb. 10 when the family posted bail. He remained free until Aug. 1 when he was arrested on an aggravated assault warrant.
In that case, police reports said Kandt and another man held a rival gang member while a third man beat him with a rock. Salt Lake police said this time, Kandt was arrested on a $250,000 cash bail warrant, even though the victim has said he's unwilling to testify against his attackers.
That means if Kandt wants to get out of jail, he must come up with the entire amount, not just a percentage, which is usually the case with bail.
Police and neighbors are cautiously relieved that Kandt is once again locked up.
Vuyk said police suspect Kandt has been involved in a number of other crimes while he was out on bail - including drive-by shootings and vandalisms - but they don't have enough evidence to charge him in any of them.
Vuyk said that's because witnesses and victims are afraid of retaliation.
Not only are people afraid to report crimes and possibly testify, Vuyk said, the activities that involve gang members invoke a completely different response.
Gang members have a different "mentality that comes into play - `we'll take care of it ourselves'," Vuyk said. He said police have looked at ways to better ensure safety for victims and witnesses in gang-related crimes.
"We don't want to put people in jeopardy," he said. "Yet we need courage from the community, too. That's the only way we're ever going to limit the power of the gangs."
Randall Gaither, who's defending Kandt on the murder charges, is out of the country and was unavailable to comment on the new arrest.
On July 11, Kandt was ordered to stand trial in the killings of Derek Shaw and Michael Allgier in early January.
Police said Kandt watched the rear of the apartment with a loaded gun while co-defendant Phillip Leishman entered the front door and shot Shaw and Allgier.
Court documents allege Kandt and Leishman were asked to commit the crimes by 16-year-old Summer Johnson, who thought one of the victims stole her car.
Vuyk said he believes it's unlikely Kandt will be able to make the cash bail. Sudweeks isn't as confident because of the assault victim's unwillingness to testify.
"I have some doubts about it," she said. But despite her fear that Kandt will again be free, she plans to speak out about how she feels about him.
"Of course I'm scared," she said. "But I have to stand up and say `what kind of society are we in that we tolerate this?' . . . Here we are rebuilding the face of this city, but there's cancer underneath.
"I'm mad at all of this (crime). I feel it doesn't do me any good to be angry unless I'm willing to speak out."