FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Zachary Cruz, brother of the teenager who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month, will go free Thursday as part of a plea deal reached in his trespassing case.
He pleaded no contest.
"Zachary Cruz is not someone anyone needs to fear," said his lawyer, Joseph Kimok. "He's someone who needs our compassion."
Cruz, 18, was arrested on March 19 at the campus of the Parkland high school. He had been warned to stay away but admitted to deputies he had been there three times since his brother, Nikolas, went on his deadly shooting spree.
Nikolas Cruz is facing the death penalty if he's convicted, but Zachary Cruz faced a maximum of 60 days in jail and a fine of $500.
Kimok read a statement expressing regret on behalf of his client.
"Zachary Cruz would like to apologize to anyone who felt scared or threatened by his presence at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School," Kimok said. Cruz watched his mother die last November and was astonished when his brother went on the shooting spree, he said.
"He didn't turn to drugs or alcohol or violence," he said. "He turned to his skateboard. He turned to Stoneman Douglas. ... He just wanted to make sense of this."
Cruz entered the courtroom at 8:45 a.m., dressed in a tan jumpsuit with his arms and legs shackled. Prosecutor Sarahnell Murphy listed the terms of the plea agreement, which included a six-month probation term, mental health counseling and a ban on coming within a mile of Stoneman Douglas.
Broward County Judge Melinda Brown scheduled Thursday's hearing to listen to arguments from both sides on Cruz's $500,000 bond. The debate over the bond amount was rendered irrelevant by the plea deal.
Prosecutors formally charged Cruz on Wednesday with one count of trespassing on public school grounds and had received his mental health records to help determine whether he poses a threat to himself or to others if released, according to court records.
Murphy said those records and a risk assessment conducted at the jail on Sunday left prosecutors convinced he could be released as long as he was subject to numerous conditions.
He cannot own a weapon or consume alcohol. He will also be on a GPS monitor during his probation.
Broward County Judge Kim Theresa Mollica, who set the $500,000 bond and imposed a slew of conditions should Cruz be released, said she considered the safety and peace of mind of the Stoneman Douglas community when she decided the amount. Prosecutors had argued he had the same "flags" as his brother and that he "terrorized" the school when he wandered the grounds on his skateboard.
Zachary Cruz was hospitalized for mental health evaluation under the state's Baker Act once after the Feb. 14 shooting and again after his arrest.
He told deputies before his arrest that he wanted to reflect on what his brother had done.
