Villa Tavern Shooting: Suspect’s $1M bond reduced to $250,000

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

A Montgomery County judge dropped bond to $250,000 for a man accused of shooting three people at a Huber Heights tavern.

RELATED: Villa Tavern Shooting: Suspect arrested, now is in Montgomery County Jail

Bond for Michael J. Prater initially was set at $1 million. The 36-year-old Dayton man was arraigned on eight counts of felonious assault Monday afternoon.

Michael J. Prater  

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RELATED: 911 callers describe chaos as shooter fires into crowd

A judge entered not guilty pleas on Prater’s behalf for all eight charges and scheduled a preliminary hearing for Thursday.

Police responded shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday to Villa Tavern after multiple people were shot outside.

Three shooting victims were taken to Miami Valley Hospital and Grandview Medical Center. A fourth person was taken to a hospital with a medical issue.

RELATED: Villa Tavern Shooting: 3 gunshot victims ID’d, 4th man hurt speaks out

Multiple witnesses at the tavern identified Prater as the shooter, according to court documents.

Police issued an arrested warrant for Prater on Friday and he was arrested later that night in Champaign County by U.S. Marshals and other police agencies.

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