FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A 26-year-old rising local rapper accused in the kidnapping of a South Florida couple in October can go free until his trial if he pays a $250,000 bond, a federal magistrate ruled Monday.
Attorney Gary Ira Rosenberg negotiated the bond for Splash Zanotti, whose legal name is Kejuan Brandon Campbell, without a detention hearing, the South Florida SunSentinel reported.
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However, one of Campbell's associates, Dionte Alexander-Wilcox, was ordered to remain in jail pending trial during a hearing on Monday. The third man, Antonio James, is scheduled for a detention hearing next week. They were arrested earlier this month, records show.
Prosecutors said Alexander-Wilcox confessed to kidnapping and rape, along with four other shootings and an armed carjacking.
The masked men forced their way into a Miramar couple's home on Oct. 11 and held them at gunpoint for almost 24 hours, authorities said.
Miramar police said the trio accused the couple's nephew of stealing $20,000 from them, and demanded the same amount from the couple.
“This is an incredibly terrible crime,” Assistant United States Attorney Ajay Alexander said during Alexander-Wilcox's hearing. “This wasn’t for a couple hours or a couple minutes. This was for a full day. They stayed overnight, ate food, drank their liquor.”
Prosecutors said Monday that Alexander-Wilcox has confessed to raping the wife during the course of the evening. They have not charged him with rape, but “he admits it. We have his statements, we have his semen,” the prosecutor said.
A transcript of the confession, which was videotaped, was not immediately available.
Campbell's attorney told the newspaper he believes his client will be freed for less than $250,000 once more facts about the case come to light.
“We are investigating it on behalf of Mr. Campbell, and we believe there are certain facts that would indicate that he’s entitled to a much lower bond,” Rosenberg said.
He wouldn’t say what those facts are. A post on Splash Zanotti's Instagram page, which has 110,000 followers, shows Campbell being taken into custody and says he is trying to stay positive.
However, prosecutors said the confession by Alexander-Wilcox’s implicates all three men.
“Alexander-Wilcox provided a statement to law enforcement,” Miramar police Detective Anthony Zeller told the judge via Zoom. “He discussed the actions of Campbell and James in the case, in detail.”
During Monday's hearing, prosecutors said Alexander-Wilcox and James held the husband at gunpoint while Campbell drove the wife around town trying to get $20,000 from her bank accounts.
Federal Magistrate Judge Jared M. Strauss called the kidnapping “violent, and indeed horrific,” and ordered Alexander-Wilcox without bond pending trial. Alexander-Wilcox is represented by Robert Berube, a federal public defender.
A detention hearing for James is scheduled for Monday. His attorney, Jason Kreiss, was not available for comment.