Florida prosecutor defends 2021 release of Ahmad Jihad Bojeh on insanity plea, now he's charged with killing 3 tourists

A prosecutor in Florida has defended the release of a man in 2021 who was recently charged with the killings of three men in the state. Ahmad Jihad Bojeh, 29, was previously found not guilty by reason of insanity in a separate shooting.

State Attorney Monique Worrell said that Bojeh had been sentenced to a conditional release that required he get mental health treatment at an outpatient partner, which eventually went up in price, causing him to break the conditions of his release. She said that after mental health evaluators deemed he was no longer a danger, prosecutors and judges no longer had the authority to keep him confined.

"I researched into this case since the latest event has taken place, and what I found is that that individual was sentenced to conditional release, and that conditional release was that he would continue treatment with an outpatient community partner," she said.

"My understanding is that that treatment was originally costing $7 a month, and that after a period of time, that $7 a month bill went up to $150 plus a month, and that the individual was no longer in compliance with his treatment because of inability to pay for that treatment. And now here we are with individuals who need mental health treatment and don't have access to that treatment. Bad things happen, and that's what we're dealing with."

She added, "I want to be very delicate in how I talk about this, because we can never overlook the fact that three people are dead, three families are grieving, and this is not an opportunity for political discussions."

Bojeh has been charged with fatally shooting Robert Luis Kraft, 70, of Michigan, his brother Douglas Joseph Kraft, 68, of Ohio, and James John Puchan, 69, of Ohio. The three men had traveled to Florida for a car auction. Authorities said the three men were targeted when they were outside the Airbnb they were renting while waiting for a replacement rental vehicle.

Bojeh lives next to the rental property, and has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder. In the 2021 case, he had been charged with first-degree murder with a firearm and aggravated battery for allegedly shooting at a person and random vehicles in a parking lot. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity in that case.