KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knox County General Sessions Court Judge Tony W. Stansberry on Tuesday increased the bond for Jason Lamont Young, accused of murdering Alma Matias, and leaving her body on Northshore Drive near the Concord Greenway.
Young is charged with first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, theft and arson, connected to the death of Matias.
In arguing to increase Young's bond, Knox County Assistant District Attorney General Rachel Hill told Stansberry the defendant beat Matias prior to her death in late July.
Hill said Matias was shot six times.
"She was stripped naked, she was wrapped in a trash bag, drug to a remote area in West Knoxville, dumped near a hiking and running trail, naked, wrapped in a blanket and a trash bag," Hill told Stansberry.
Stansberry increased Young's bond to $750,000 on the first-degree murder charge.
Knox County sheriff's deputies recovered Matias's body the morning of July 30 on Northshore Drive near the Concord Greenway.
Prosecutors charged Jasquaysjha Ryans and Tyrone Mack in connection with Matias's death. They are charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and accessory after the fact.
Security camera footage shows Matias arrived at Ridgebrook Apartments around 5:30 p.m. July 29, warrants said. Makeya Maxwell, a friend of Matias, said she and Matias considered Ryans, Mack and Young friends.
In the hearing Tuesday, Hill said a witness inside the apartment identified Young as the person who killed Matias.
Mack "saw Jason Young with a gun in his hand and Alma on the ground," the warrant states.
Surveillance video shows Mack and Ryans help Young move Matias's body, wrapped up in a blanket, into the back of her car, according to the warrant.
Court documents state Young and Rontrell Allen dropped Matias's body off on Northshore Drive near the Concord Greenway. Young then set fire to Matias's car, warrants said.
"The victim's car is found hours later, burnt to a crisp, with a gas can sitting right outside of it," Hill said in court.
Young and Allen are charged with arson and theft.
The affidavit of complaint said Ryans and Mack spent the next few hours cleaning the apartment and "removing evidence by placing items in their vehicle."
A magistrate issued the arrest warrant for Young on the arson and theft charges July 31. Knox County Sheriff's Office Communications Director Kimberly Glenn said Young was released on a $25,000 bond for those charges.
On Aug. 5, the Sheriff's Office issued an arrest warrant for Young on first-degree murder charges and he, again, turned himself in, Glenn said.
Allen is scheduled to appear in court for a bond hearing Aug. 23. Young, Mack and Ryans are scheduled for a preliminary hearing Oct. 24, where a judge will decide if there is enough evidence to proceed. If the judge finds probable cause, it will be bound over to the grand jury for review.