Following his felony DUI charge, American Idol alum Caleb Kennedy has been reportedly denied bond at his court hearing.
Earlier this month, on Feb. 8, Kennedy, 17, was driving his 2011 Ford pickup in South Carolina, when he allegedly drove into the driveway of a private residence and "struck" a building, an official from the South Carolina Highway Patrol previously told E! News. The person inside the garage, according to multiple reports, was later identified as Larry Duane Paris, 54.
Following the incident, authorities confirmed that Kennedy, who is from Roebuck, S.C., was charged with felony driving under the influence resulting in death, adding that the "crash remains under investigation."
At his bond hearing on Thursday, Feb. 24, members of Paris' family shared impact statements, asking the judge to deny his bond.
"I see my daddy laying in his own shop, moaning and groaning, with a stranger not even calling 911," Larry Paris' daughter, Kelsey Paris, told the judge, per local publication, The State. "He killed my dad, point blank. I wish I could pay a little bit of money or a lot of money to have my daddy back."
Ultimately, the circuit court judge declined to set his bond "until results of blood tests are completed by the State Law Enforcement Division," according to the outlet, which also noted that Kennedy's attorney, Ryan Beasley, expressed displeasure with the decision, citing Kennedy's age.
During the hearing, Beasley, who had previously said Kennedy was on medication at the time of the crash, noted that Kennedy was recently prescribed Prozac and that doctors recently doubled his prescription, according to NBC affiliate TV outlet, WYFF.
In a Feb. 25 statement, Beasley tells E! News, "This is a juvenile with no record. I have multiple cases that are much worse than this one, and they all have bonds. Judges have set bonds for much more egregious cases than this one. I think it all has to do with the publicity of the case."
This is not the first time that Kennedy—who appeared in season 19 of American Idol, which aired in early 2021—has made headlines.
Last year, after landing in the Top 5 of the singing competition, Kennedy exited the show after a video surfaced online that allegedly showed him next to someone in a white hood, reminiscent of those worn by the Ku Klux Klan. (E! News could not verify the authenticity of the video.)
"Hey y'all, this is gonna be a bit of a surprise, but I am no longer gonna be on American Idol," Kennedy shared in a statement on Instagram in May 2021. "There was a video that surfaced on the internet, and it displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way."
Added Kennedy, "I was younger and did not think about the actions, but that's not an excuse. I wanna say sorry to all my fans and everyone who I have let down."