A Boulder man accused of killing 19-year-old Zaria Hardee and leaving her to decompose on a bike trailer in July was set a $10 million bond on Friday.
Jimmy West, 52, was arrested Thursday and is facing the charge of first-degree murder.
He is currently in custody and appeared in court in person on Friday.
District Judge Andrew Hartman ordered the $10 million bond Friday as the murder occurred before the reinstating of no-bond holds in Colorado in first-degree murder cases.
In November, voters approved a constitutional amendment that allowed for the reinstatement of proof evident presumption great hearings. Public defender Jeff Gillio said Friday that because the alleged crime happened in July, before the statutory change, West was entitled to a bond.
During proof evident presumption great hearings, judges can place no-bond holds on first-degree murder defendants if the proof is evident of the presumption is great that they committed a crime
In 2020, Colorado repealed the death penalty by eliminating “capital offenses” in the state. Prior to the ruling, first-degree murder convictions were considered capital offenses and punishable by the death penalty. As a result, because the legislature specifically stated that only capital offenses are eligible for no bond holds, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that first-degree murder cases would no longer be eligible for no bond holds or proof evident presumption great hearings — meaning all murder defendants were then eligible for bond.
West was not formally charged with first-degree murder Friday after Gillio said there was a conflict with his office and West would need alternative defense counsel. West is expected to return to court on Tuesday for his formal filing of charges.
Hartman also approved a protection order that would prevent West from contacting Hardee’s family or any witnesses in the case as part of his bond. Hartman said Friday he believes West will remain in custody for a while, due to the high bond setting.
Hardee was found dead on July 14, wrapped in multiple layers of blankets, a tent and a motorcycle cover on a bike trailer near the 800 block of Goss Street in Boulder. Police said Thursday that her body had been badly decomposing when it was found, and she was believed to have been dead for several days.
Maggots and flies were found near Hardee, and she was tied to the bike trailer, according to a police affidavit from the case. Through video surveillance and interviews with witnesses, police determined that Hardee was taken to West’s campsite just north of 1631 17th St. in Boulder — about 500 feet from where she was later found dead. According to the affidavit, police interviewed her boyfriend at the time of the offense, who admitted “to selling” Hardee to West in trade of drugs.
Police wrote that West admitted that the trailer Hardee was found on was his but lied about the last time he’d seen her, according to the affidavit. Colorado Bureau of Investigation testing ruled the tape that covered Hardee’s mouth had the same microscopic evidence as tape found in West’s campsite. The lab testing also found that West’s DNA was on the tent that Hardee was found wrapped in.
The Boulder County Coroner’s Office later determined that Hardee had been repeatedly struck in the head, and a blow to the head was what killed her. Probable asphyxia was also listed as part of the cause of death, according to the affidavit.
