A judge set an unusually high $500,000 bail Tuesday for the brother of Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz for allegedly trespassing at the school in Parkland.
Prosecutors said Zachary Cruz was in jail for hanging around the school and terrorizing students by saying how famous his brother had become and how much he admired him.
"Weeks after his brother murdered, injured and terrorized the school, he is there for no legitimate purpose," Assistant State Attorney Sarahnell Murphy said Tuesday. She noted that Zachary Cruz had gone to the school three times, even after he had been told to stay away.
Cruz's attorney said he was arrested not because of what he did but because of who he is.
The Florida judge ordered Zachary Cruz to wear a GPS tracking device on his ankle if he was released from jail, to keep away from the school and to not have any contact with his brother.
Nikolas Cruz is facing the death penalty for allegedly using an assault-style rifle to kill 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February. A judge entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf during his arraignment last week.
