A judge on Friday set bail at $100,000 for a man accused of hitting a skateboarder with his car and fleeing the scene.

Elijah Malone, 26, was arrested the day before on a felony charge of failing to stop at the scene of an accident.

Malone’s defense attorneys, Warren Geller and Frank Cofer, said he had made a reasonable effort to determine what happened after the June 4 crash.

Geller and Cofer had asked Pro Tem Judge Holly Stoberski to release Malone on his own recognizance with court supervision. Prosecutors, meanwhile, sought $200,000 bail, alleging Malone tried to cover up the crash by falsifying his time card to make it appear he was still at work when it happened.

The charge Malone faces carries a prison sentence of 8 to 20 years.

Court records show that he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in 2021. His sentence included DUI education classes, community service, and a one-month jail term that was suspended after he completed the other requirements.

Defense attorneys say Malone tried to turn self in

According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the body of 28-year-old Ivan Aguilera was found along the side of North Oso Blanca Road, just north of West Montecito Pointe Drive, on the afternoon of June 5.

Metro determined that, around 10:30 p.m., a Ram pickup traveling southbound on Oso Blanca Road struck Aguilera as he was riding a skateboard.

Geller and Cofer denied that Malone fled the scene, saying he instead stopped, flashed his vehicle’s lights and looked around after the crash.

They speculated that Malone had not seen Aguilera because his body was thrown more than 100 feet from the roadway and obscured by a power box.

The defense attorneys also said that days after the crash, detectives had contacted Malone’s brother, who they said owned the truck involved in the crash. When Malone was told that Aguilera was hit and killed in the crash, Malone tried to turn himself in, Geller said.

“On June 10, at 9:13 a.m., the detective indicated to us that my client is not at fault, suggesting that the deceased, unfortunately, may have been skateboarding in a way that was risky,” Geller said.

As the attorney spoke, Aguilera’s relatives, who packed the courtroom gallery, sobbed.

In addition to setting bail at $100,000, Stoberski ordered that, if released from custody, Malone be subject to high-level electronic monitoring and barred from driving except for travel to and from work.

‘A life was taken’

After the hearing, Aguilera’s brother, Carlos Aguilera Jr., along with family friend and attorney Richard Bryant, said they were not convinced by Geller and Cofer’s account of the events following the crash.

“There’s a photo from the crash showing a shoe in the middle of the road. If he was flashing his headlights, he would have seen that,” Bryant said. “His failure to call 911 does not align with the account presented by his attorneys.”

Carlos Aguilera Jr. said Malone should remain in custody until the case is resolved. He, along with his sister, father, and dozens of cousins, wore a black shirt emblazoned with the words “Justice for Ivan Aguilar” on the back.

“It’s not fair that this guy can go home, feed his children and be with his wife,” Carlos Aguilera Jr. said. “I don’t have a brother anymore. A life was taken.”

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.